The Boeing spacecraft returned safely to Earth on Saturday without a pilot on board.
The Boeing Starliner has been plagued with technical issues since it launched into space more than three months ago with astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore on board, leaving the pilots essentially stranded in space. NASA and Boeing have been working on how to bring Williams and Wilmore home, and decided to stay in space for the time being, rather than sending them home in the troubled return module, which successfully landed. under Saturday in New Mexico. (Related article: “Worth billions”: Defense companies enter gold rush with record arms orders)
NASA said it would have been dangerous to try to return Williams and Wilmore to Earth in a return craft.
“Despite the need to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the harshest environment possible,” said NASA's Ken Bowersox. statement Saturday.
NASA and Boeing welcome the idea #Starliner The spacecraft landed in New Mexico at 12:01 a.m. (0401 UTC) on Saturday, September 7, concluding its Earth-bound test flight. Space Station: https://t.co/rOrGmEZtgP pic.twitter.com/LUqnGfuDME
— NASA (@NASA) September 7, 2024
Two Boeing executives were scheduled to appear at a NASA news conference on Saturday, but neither made the appearance. According to Speaking to The Washington Post, Boeing did not explain why they were not there.
According to The Washington Post, the Boeing Starliner's initial flight in June was meant to evaluate how the spacecraft would perform with a crew on board, but as the spacecraft approached the International Space Station (ISS), some of its thrusters suddenly stopped working, along with other problems including a helium leak.
Both Williams and Wilmore have been holed up on the ISS ever since, and are scheduled to remain there until February of next year, when Elon Musk's SpaceX will fly a spacecraft to the station to pick them up and return them to Earth, according to The Washington Post.
Boeing, which has been dogged by controversy over technical problems with several of its planes, appeared to dispute NASA's assessment on Saturday that it would have been impossible to bring the pilots home, apparently feeling the flight would have been safe, The Washington Post reported.
“[There was] “There was tension in the room,” a NASA official said at a press conference this week, according to the outlet. “I wouldn't say it was a heated meeting. I don't think it was a yelling or screaming meeting. It was a tense technical discussion.”
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