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After 93 days on orbit , Starliner is coming home .
The spacecraft is a “ go ” for undocking from the International Space Station at 6:04 p.m. EST , though it will be leaving its two - soul crew behind , and you could look out the drama unfold live .
Those crew members , NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams , closed the hatching on Starliner for the final metre to begin with today . They ’ll be monitoring the space vehicle as it make its way through the atmosphere this evening , before eventuallylanding in New Mexico shortly after midnight .
Boeing ’s Starliner space vehicle launched to revolve on June 5 . This crewed psychometric test mission was the critical final step before the company could start providing veritable gang transfer overhaul to the space agency , as part of a $ 4.2 billion contract it win way back in 2014 .
But the spacecraftexperienced expert proceeds shortly before docking with the space place , including several malfunctioning thrusters and He leaks in the propellent system . While NASA and Boeing locomotive engineer spent week adjudicate to understand the root cause of the issues — and at last extending the mission from seven days to more than 90 — the space agencyultimately determine that Starliner should make its return to Earth empty .
Wilmore and Williams will stay on the station until February 2025 and return on a SpaceX Dragon ejection seat alternatively . SpaceX is currently the only American provider of astronaut transportation services . Boeing is meant to be the 2d , and the aerospace firm says it ’s committed to continue with the Starliner programme despite the anomalies . But it ’s unclear how long it will take for the company to have the next spacecraft quick for a test deputation .
NASA will startle streaming insurance coverage of Starliner ’s passing at 5:45 p.m. EDT . press the picture below to watch . But wait , there ’s more !
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The spacecraft is require to make a soft landing using parachutes and airbags at New Mexico ’s White Sands Missile Range shortly after midnight EDT . Willcox , Arizona , Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and Edwards Air Force Base in California are also available as back - up landing sites . NASA will cover the reentry and land in a separate watercourse that begins at 10:50 p.m. EST — simulate all goes well , you’re able to find out the landing place below .
