American astronaut Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have triumphantly returned to Earth after a challenging 9 months in space. Their successful landing on Florida's coast via SpaceX's Dragon capsule marked the completion of their prolonged journey. On June 5, 2024, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore embarked on their voyage aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. Initially slated to return just 8 days later on June 13, unforeseen troubles extended their stay in space by 9 months. Discover the captivating story of their mission...
NASA greenlit Boeing to develop the Starliner spacecraft in October 2011. It took nearly 6 years to complete the spacecraft in 2017. Testing continued until 2019, but these were unmanned missions.
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The Complete Starliner Story
The first unmanned Orbital Flight Test occurred on December 20, 2019. However, due to two software anomalies, it ended up in the wrong orbit, unable to dock with the space station. It ultimately landed back at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, two days later.
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Each Flight Faced Challenges...
The second unmanned test on April 6, 2020, intended to reach the space station for docking, was postponed due to unforeseen issues. Preparations resumed in August 2021, yet propulsion valve flaws delayed the launch further, necessitating a comprehensive spacecraft overhaul.
In May 2022, a trial flight was prepped for launch. On May 19, 2022, Starliner soared again, this time with two dummy astronauts aboard, but faced setbacks with its Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control System thrusters. Despite difficulties, it successfully docked with the space station on May 22, 2022.
Starliner returned to Earth from the space station on May 25, 2022. During re-entry, navigation system errors, communication mishaps, and GPS satellite disconnection occurred, deemed 'normal' by Boeing.
Sunita's Flight: A Perilous Journey
The third scheduled manned flight was initially set for 2017 but faced multiple delays, eventually planned for July 2023. On June 1, 2023, Boeing postponed this mission again. On August 7, 2023, Boeing announced the resolution of spacecraft issues, setting the next launch for May 6, 2024.
Yet again, the launch faced postponements due to oxygen valve issues in the Atlas rocket and helium leaks in the spacecraft. Ultimately, on June 5, Sunita Williams and Barry Butch Wilmore embarked on their galactic odyssey aboard the spacecraft, originally meant to return on June 13, but destiny had a different plan.
