# Boeing’s Starliner Spacecraft: A Mixed Outcome in its Recent Test Flight
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft wrapped up its most recent test flight with a successful landing in the New Mexico desert on Friday night, bringing a three-month mission to a close. While the landing was executed flawlessly, the mission itself was overshadowed by technical difficulties that left the spacecraft’s two-person crew marooned aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until next year. This article explores the significant occurrences of the mission, the obstacles encountered, and the future of Boeing’s Starliner initiative.
## A Flawless Landing, but a Vacant Cockpit
The Starliner spacecraft landed at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, at 10:01 pm local time on Friday (12:01 am EDT Saturday), gently cushioned by airbags and decelerated by three primary parachutes. The landing seemed perfect, as if NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were onboard. However, the cockpit was unoccupied.
NASA initially intended for Wilmore and Williams to return to Earth on Starliner, but apprehensions regarding the spacecraft’s thruster functionality prompted the agency to postpone their return. Rather than coming home on Starliner, the astronauts will fly back aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in February 2025. In the interim, they will carry on their mission as part of the ISS’s extended crew.
## The Homeward Journey
Starliner’s return trip to Earth commenced with its undocking from the ISS at 6:04 pm EDT (22:04 UTC) on Friday. After detaching from the station, the spacecraft executed a deorbit burn to direct it toward its landing destination. The service module, a non-reusable component of the spacecraft, was discarded and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean, while the crew module, with its deserted cockpit, reentered Earth’s atmosphere.
As Starliner fell, it deployed three main parachutes to reduce its speed, and six airbags inflated around the capsule’s base to soften the landing. This was the third occasion a Starliner capsule had ventured into space, but it was also the second instance in which the spacecraft did not fulfill all of its mission goals.
## An Unsatisfactory Result
Even with the successful landing, NASA officials conveyed mixed feelings. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program, commended the spacecraft’s performance throughout the undocking, deorbiting, and landing stages. Nevertheless, he recognized that the mission’s outcome fell short of the team’s expectations.
“We had aimed for the mission to land with Butch and Suni onboard,” Stich stated. “There’s a part of us that wishes it would have unfolded as planned.”
NASA opted to complete the Starliner test flight without astronauts onboard due to worries about the spacecraft’s thruster system. While Boeing maintained that Starliner was suitable for crewed flights, NASA chose to exercise caution, deciding to return the astronauts on a proven SpaceX Dragon spacecraft instead.
## Thruster Challenges and Additional Technical Hurdles
The thruster malfunctions that beset Starliner during the mission were a significant influence on NASA’s choice to keep the astronauts on the ISS. Five of the 28 control thrusters on Starliner’s service module failed as the spacecraft neared the ISS in June, necessitating Wilmore to assume manual control. Although engineers managed to restore four of the five thrusters, the situation raised concerns regarding the spacecraft’s safe return to Earth.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the thrusters had overheated, causing Teflon seals in the valves to expand and obstruct the flow of propellant. During Starliner’s reentry, telemetry data indicated higher-than-expected temperatures in two of the thrusters, although they remained operational.
In addition to the thruster complications, Starliner encountered five minor helium leaks within its propulsion system, one of which was identified prior to the spacecraft’s launch. These leaks persisted throughout the mission but stayed within safe limits.
Further difficulties emerged during the spacecraft’s reentry. One of the 12 control jets on the crew module failed to ignite, and there was a brief malfunction in Starliner’s navigation system during reentry.
## Boeing’s Reticence and NASA’s Assurance
After Starliner’s landing, NASA officials conducted a press conference to review the mission. However, Boeing representatives, who were originally slated to join, canceled at the last moment. Boeing has largely abstained from commenting since NASA’s decision to conclude the test flight without the crew onboard, prompting speculation about the company’s long-term dedication to the Starliner program.
Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator, acknowledged the differing perspectives between NASA and Boeing regarding the spacecraft’s safety. “We interpret the data and the associated uncertainty differently than Boeing does,” Free remarked.
Despite these hurdles, NASA remains steadfast in its commitment to the Starliner program. The agency’s commercial crew initiative was established to promote the creation of two independent vehicles for crew transport to the ISS. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has been operational since 2020.
