Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returns to Earth without the crew it took to space

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which transported two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, has returned to Earth without the astronauts.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returns to Earth without the crew it took to space
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Boeing's Starliner spacecraft that transported two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) has returned home without the astronauts.

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Boeing's first astronaut mission to the ISS ended in failure when NASA deemed its Starliner spacecraft unsafe to transport the two astronauts it took to the ISS in June back to the surface of Earth. The mission was originally meant to be eight days, but now the astronauts will stay aboard the ISS until February next year when they will hitch a ride on Boeing's competitor's spacecraft, SpaceX's Dragon capsule.

Starliner parachuted into New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range on Friday. It has since been collected and will undergo a thorough evaluation to determine what caused the helium leaks that ultimately led to its mission's failure. Preliminary analysis of Starliner's problem from engineers led to the suspicion that Starliner's thrusters were getting too hot, causing the protective seals to swell and eventually obstruct the flow of propellant or liquid helium.

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Despite this debacle with Starliner, Boeing intends to further develop the capsule and fulfill NASA's goal of having two private US companies compete for transportation missions to the ISS and other US space-based operations.

"We are excited to have Starliner home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system," said Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months."

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NEWS SOURCES:nasa.gov, abc.net.au

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Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms.

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