Six hours after departing the International Space Station, Boeing's Starliner space capsule parachuted into New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range. But its continued technical troubles mean the astronauts it carried on launch will be staying behind until next year.
Troubles have plagued Boeing's capsule since before launch.
Problems during an uncrewed test flight in 2019 prevented the craft from reaching the space station, ultimately requiring a second uncrewed test flight in 2022.
RELATED STORY | NASA clears up confusion regarding strange sound from Starliner
The launch that got Williams and Wilmore to the space station was delayed twice — once in early May because of a bad valve inside the rocket and again just before launch because of a computer's power unit failure.
Once Starliner was docked, NASA elected to keep it in place due to thruster failures and helium leaks that needed diagnosis.
Most recently, astronauts reported hearing unusual sounds from the capsule.
NASA said this week "the speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner's uncrewed undocking."
Altogether the delays have extended Williams' and Wilmore's stay in space from a little more than a week to what is now forecast to be 262 days. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will launch this month will carry the astronauts home in February of 2025.
