Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to return to Earth next week without crew

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to leave the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth next week with no astronaut onboard, NASA announced on Friday, reported Xinhua.

The uncrewed spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously undock from the space station at approximately 6:04 p.m. Eastern Time (2204 GMT) Friday, Sept. 6, to begin the journey home.

NASA and Boeing are targeting approximately 12:03 a.m. Eastern Time (1603 GMT) Saturday, Sept. 7, for a landing at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, which marks the conclusion of the flight test.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight, and arrived at ISS on June 6.

As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters.

For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced last week that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew. Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the station and return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission.