Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has safely exited the direct vicinity of the International Space Station and the nine astronauts currently on board the orbiting laboratory. The spacecraft flew home without its two-person crew due to issues with its thrusters and helium leaks. It unlatched from its docking port at 6:04 p.m. ET and completed 12 brief firings of its small engines to maneuver away from the ISS as the space station orbited about 260 miles above China.
NASA astronaut Suni Williams, who along with Butch Wilmore made up the Starliner crew during the spacecraft’s journey to the ISS, bid farewell to the vehicle one last time as it disembarked. Williams remarked, “OK. She’s on her way home,” as the Starliner drifted away, expressing congratulations to the undock team for their efforts.
