Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft undocks from the International Space Station without a crew, NASA broadcasts live.
“Undocking has been confirmed and Starliner is beginning its return to Earth,” Mission Control in Houston said.
The order to undock was given at 18:04 US Eastern Standard Time (1:04 Moscow time). Once the ship, thanks to 12 brief activations of its engines, has sailed to a safe distance from the station, about 200 metres, it begins its return to Earth.
The Starliner is scheduled to land in New Mexico in six hours, at approximately midnight Washington time (7:00 Moscow time). The ISS’s spent materials and cargo are expected to return to Earth on board, NASA said.
Created by Boeing under contract with NASA, Starliner embarked on its first crewed flight with NASA astronauts. Barry Wilmore AND Sunita Williams June 5. The test mission was planned to last about a week, but due to problems with the ship’s engine discovered during docking with the station and a subsequent helium leak, the test was delayed. Specialists were unable to fix the identified problems and it was decided that the Starliner would return to Earth uncrewed. NASA test astronauts Wilmore and Williams will remain on the ISS until February and return home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
