The undocking of the ‘uncrewed’ NASA Boeing Starliner ‘Calypso’ will take place on September 6 at the International Space Station (ISS), the space agency said.
According to NASA’s blog post, the Starliner’s journey back to Earth is expected to take approximately six hours from undocking to landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
Ground teams will remotely guide the spacecraft through necessary manoeuvres for a safe undocking, re-entry and parachute-assisted landing in southwestern United States.
NASA also said the Starliner has previously completed a successful uncrewed entry and landing during two orbital flight tests.
When can you watch the return of NASA Boeing Starliner?
The uncrewed NASA’s Boeing Starliner ‘Calypso’ will return to the Earth on September 6, Friday. According to the NASA blog, the spacecraft will make its return at about 3:30 PM IST (6:04 am EDT).
The Boeing Starliner will touch down at about 9:30 AM IST (2:03 AM EDT) on Saturday, September 7.
It will be descending under parachutes and with inflated airbags to cushion the impact.
Where can you watch the return of NASA Boeing Starliner?
Space enthusiasts can catch the live telecast of the return of uncrewed NASA Boeing at Space Affairs’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv5X2yghKhA.
Sunita Williams’ return to Earth
Last week, NASA said its two astronauts – Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams –who flew to the ISS in the Starliner in June will return to Earth in a SpaceX vehicle in February next year.
They will remain aboard the orbiting complex as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025, when they’ll return with Crew-9 mission, said NASA.
The delay has been attributed to issues with Starliner’s propulsion system, which were deemed too risky for crewed return. The capsule had experienced a series of glitches within the first 24 hours of its flight to the ISS.