Boeing Starliner Returns Without NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore | VIDEO

Washington: Boeing's damaged Starliner capsule on Saturday (Sept 7) landed successfully at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 12:01 am ET (9:31 pm IST), NASA said in a post. The post also mentioned that NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are scheduled to return to Earth in February next year.

"Touchdown, #Starliner! The uncrewed spacecraft landed at New Mexico's White Sands Space Harbor at 12:01 am ET (0401 UTC) on Saturday, Sept. 7," the post read. 

The capsule took six hours to complete its journey. The spacecraft had to make its way back home without astronauts after it suffered technical glitches including helium leaks.
 

This comes after months of turmoil over its safety. Since the thruster failures and helium leaks marred their ride to the space station, NASA decided that it was too risky for the astronauts to return to Starliner.

So, the fully automated capsule left empty seats with some blue spacesuits and other old station equipment.

In the latest developments, Elon Musk's Space X will bring the duo back in February, stretching their eight-day mission to eight more months.

As veteran astronauts and retired Navy captains, Wilmore and Williams anticipated hurdles on the test flight. They've kept busy in space, helping with repairs and experiments. The two are now full-time station crew members along with the seven others on board.

Even before the pair launched on June 5, Starliner's propulsion system was leaking helium. The leak was small and thought to be isolated, but four more cropped up after liftoff. Then five thrusters failed. Although four of the thrusters were recovered, it gave NASA pause as to whether more malfunctions might hamper the capsule's descent from orbit.

Boeing conducted numerous thruster tests in space and on the ground over the summer and was convinced its spacecraft could safely bring Wilmore and Williams home. But NASA disagreed and opted for SpaceX.

NASA's commercial crew programme manager Steve Stich said earlier this week that teams have been so focused on Starliner's return that they've had no time to think about what's next for Boeing. He said the space agency remains committed to having two competing U.S. companies transporting astronauts.

(Inputs from AP)