Boeing’s Starliner leaves space station for Earth – without its astronauts
SUMMARY
Boeing’s Starliner space capsule undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, months later than planned and without its original crew. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who launched in the Starliner in June, were supposed to return to Earth after a week but were left stranded due to significant technical issues, including thruster failures and helium leaks.The Starliner, which left the ISS autonomously, is now en route to White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore will remain at the ISS until February, when they are expected to return aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Boeing’s journey to provide orbital taxi services has been fraught with delays and costly setbacks, with this mission marking yet another troubled chapter in the company's attempt to compete with SpaceX in space transportation.
