Nuked The CST-100 Starliner returned to earth this afternoon, landing intact with parachutes and airbags in the New Mexico desert. The successful touchdown brings an end to a crucial test flight for Boeing’s new passenger spacecraft, CST-100 Starliner.
The Starliner capsule was built in partnership with NASA to launch the agency’s astronauts to and from the International Space Station, or ISS. The mission is part of NASA’s commercial crew program, which challenged private companies with creating space taxis to carry people to low Earth orbit.
The capsule successfully launched to orbit on May 19th, riding to space on top of an Atlas V rocket. It docked with the ISS on May 20th; and it undocked with the space station this afternoon before heading home.
In December of that year, Boeing launched Starliner without a crew on board, sending it to space on another Atlas V rocket. A software glitch on Starliner caused the capsule to fire its thrusters incorrectly after it separated from the rocket. The issue prevented Starliner from reaching the space station, and Boeing was not able to show the spacecraft’s ability to dock with the ISS.
The company attempted to try again to launch Starliner last summer. But just hours before takeoff, the company halted the countdown. It took Boeing up until now to fix the issues, and the company says it’s possible that a redesign of the valves may happen in the future.
The capsule undocked with the ISS at 2:36pm et this afternoon. It plunged through the planet’s atmosphere, experiencing temperatures of up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It was the second successful landing for Starliner, as Boeing showcased the vehicle’s landing during its first botched test flight in 2019.
Nasa’s Brandi Dean, a NASA communications officer, said’just a beautiful touchdown in white sands this evening’.’that touchdown coming at 5:49pm Central time, almost exactly six days into the mission,’ he said.
The capsule launched to space last week. Two of the 12 thrusters Starliner uses failed. The capsule got into orbit as planned.
A couple of different smaller thrusters, used to maneuver Starliner during docking, also failed due to low chamber pressure. The spacecraft’s thermal systems showed extra cold temperatures, and the engineering team had to manage that during the docking.
The capsule has brought about 600 pounds of cargo back to earth. Rosie the rocketeer rode along inside Starliner to simulate what it’ll be like when humans ride on board.
Nasa and Boeing will study the failures that occurred on this flight. Boeing has already flown five crewed flights to the station for NASA on its crew Dragon capsule, which carried its first passengers in 2020.
