Hatch Shut to Send Troubled Starliner Home With No Astronauts on Board

Battened Down

The hatch of Boeing's plagued Starliner is officially closed for its return journey.

The much-maligned spacecraft, which has been stuck at the International Space Station since early June due to a litany of technical issues, is set to make its return just after 6 pm EDT today.

The plan is for it to engage its braking burn just before midnight to lower its orbit and make its fiery reentry through the atmosphere. If everything goes by without a hitch — though there are still plenty of things that could go wrong — the capsule will slowly make its parachutes-aided descent over the New Mexico desert.

Meanwhile, stranded astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will have to stay behind and wait until February for their return on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

"It's bittersweet to be packing up Starliner and putting our simulators in our seats," Williams said earlier this week, as quoted by CBS News. "But, you know, we want to do the best we can to make sure she's in good shape."

"Thanks for backing us up, thanks for looking over our shoulder and making sure we've got everything in the right place," she told flight controllers. "We want her to have a nice, soft landing in the desert."

Breakout Burn

The two astronauts were only meant to stay on board the space station for eight days. But thanks to helium leaks affecting Starliner's propulsion system, the pair's return has been repeatedly delayed.

Late last month, NASA made the official call to have Starliner return empty due to uncertainty and risk. Instead, Williams and Wilmore will board SpaceX's Crew-9 mission for a February return. Their ride is scheduled to arrive at the ISS later this month.

Doubts clearly remain remain. NASA is playing it safe by having Starliner perform a powerful "breakout burn" to have it gain distance on the space station as fast as possible.

"There's just a lot less variables we need to account for when we do the breakout burn and allows us to get the vehicle on its trajectory home that much sooner," NASA's Johnson Space Center lead flight director Anthony Vareha explained during a press conference earlier this week.

When or if Starliner will fly again after its disastrous crewed flight test remains to be seen. NASA, however, remains optimistic, with teams already working on getting the plagued spacecraft certified for future missions.

More on Starliner: NASA Admits “Tension in the Room” as It Told Boeing Starliner Couldn’t Return Astronauts to Earth