Boeing's new astronaut capsule is set to depart the International Space Station on Friday without its crew. NASA's two test pilots will remain at the space station as the Starliner capsule prepares to undock and land in the New Mexico desert.
Due to thruster failures and helium leaks during the journey to the space station, NASA deemed it too risky to return the pilots on Starliner. As a result, the capsule will carry their empty seats and blue spacesuits back to Earth. SpaceX will bring the pilots back in late February, extending their mission from eight days to over eight months.
Boeing's first astronaut flight has faced numerous delays and setbacks. Following the retirement of the space shuttles, NASA enlisted Boeing and SpaceX for orbital taxi services. Boeing encountered significant issues during its first test flight in 2019, leading to a costly do-over in 2022 that revealed additional flaws.
SpaceX, on the other hand, has conducted nine crew ferry flights for NASA since 2020. Their upcoming Dragon capsule launch will carry only two astronauts on a half-year expedition, with two seats reserved for the returning pilots from the Starliner mission.
