٠٠:٠٣:١٩Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft successfully landed at the White Sands Space Harbour in New Mexico on Friday without the two stranded ISS astronauts on board, marking the end of a three-month test flight.
Footage shows the spacecraft parachuting to the ground. According to NASA, it landed at 22:01 MDT (04:01 GMT) in the New Mexico desert.
During a press conference held in Houston following the landing, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program Steve Stich praised the successful undocking, orbit and landing sequence and 'safe' return of the vehicle.
Addressing the problems with Starliner-1, the manager said that following the landing the team will continue to improve the aircraft.
"We want to get into the spacecraft and start working on the helium system that we talked about. We know we have a seal that we are going to replace the flanges on the RCS thrusters, we need to upgrade that material," he continued.
During the launch on June 5, Boeing discovered multiple technical problems, including malfunctioning thrusters and helium leaks impacting the spacecraft's propulsion system making it too unsafe to return with.
Last month, NASA announced that the spacecraft would return without a crew on board, leaving astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams stranded in space until February.
Wilmore and Williams will extend their mission on the International Space Station (ISS) until the arrival of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
"We used the NASA docking system for the second time on the mission to undock from the space station. That system performs really well. It's a derivative system that we use for Orion down the road. So it was good to pave the way for Orion as well," Stich said. He also expressed his gratitude to the teams of Boeing and NASA, among others who worked on the mission.
The landing marks the first time an American-made capsule managed to land on solid ground rather than to splash into the ocean to return home.
Unmanned touchdown - Boeing's troubled Starliner returns to Earth without stranded ISS crew
Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft successfully landed at the White Sands Space Harbour in New Mexico on Friday without the two stranded ISS astronauts on board, marking the end of a three-month test flight.
Footage shows the spacecraft parachuting to the ground. According to NASA, it landed at 22:01 MDT (04:01 GMT) in the New Mexico desert.
During a press conference held in Houston following the landing, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program Steve Stich praised the successful undocking, orbit and landing sequence and 'safe' return of the vehicle.
Addressing the problems with Starliner-1, the manager said that following the landing the team will continue to improve the aircraft.
"We want to get into the spacecraft and start working on the helium system that we talked about. We know we have a seal that we are going to replace the flanges on the RCS thrusters, we need to upgrade that material," he continued.
During the launch on June 5, Boeing discovered multiple technical problems, including malfunctioning thrusters and helium leaks impacting the spacecraft's propulsion system making it too unsafe to return with.
Last month, NASA announced that the spacecraft would return without a crew on board, leaving astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams stranded in space until February.
Wilmore and Williams will extend their mission on the International Space Station (ISS) until the arrival of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
"We used the NASA docking system for the second time on the mission to undock from the space station. That system performs really well. It's a derivative system that we use for Orion down the road. So it was good to pave the way for Orion as well," Stich said. He also expressed his gratitude to the teams of Boeing and NASA, among others who worked on the mission.
The landing marks the first time an American-made capsule managed to land on solid ground rather than to splash into the ocean to return home.
Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft successfully landed at the White Sands Space Harbour in New Mexico on Friday without the two stranded ISS astronauts on board, marking the end of a three-month test flight.
Footage shows the spacecraft parachuting to the ground. According to NASA, it landed at 22:01 MDT (04:01 GMT) in the New Mexico desert.
During a press conference held in Houston following the landing, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program Steve Stich praised the successful undocking, orbit and landing sequence and 'safe' return of the vehicle.
Addressing the problems with Starliner-1, the manager said that following the landing the team will continue to improve the aircraft.
"We want to get into the spacecraft and start working on the helium system that we talked about. We know we have a seal that we are going to replace the flanges on the RCS thrusters, we need to upgrade that material," he continued.
During the launch on June 5, Boeing discovered multiple technical problems, including malfunctioning thrusters and helium leaks impacting the spacecraft's propulsion system making it too unsafe to return with.
Last month, NASA announced that the spacecraft would return without a crew on board, leaving astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams stranded in space until February.
Wilmore and Williams will extend their mission on the International Space Station (ISS) until the arrival of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
"We used the NASA docking system for the second time on the mission to undock from the space station. That system performs really well. It's a derivative system that we use for Orion down the road. So it was good to pave the way for Orion as well," Stich said. He also expressed his gratitude to the teams of Boeing and NASA, among others who worked on the mission.
The landing marks the first time an American-made capsule managed to land on solid ground rather than to splash into the ocean to return home.