Starliner Undocks from Space Station, Heads to New Mexico for Landing

On September 6, the uncrewed Boeing Starliner successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) and initiated its journey back to Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to land in New Mexico within six hours.

The autonomous undocking took place at 6:04 p.m. The spacecraft was unhooked from the ISS’s forward module and began a series of maneuvers, performing 12 “breakout burns” over a span of five minutes. This series of burns helped the Starliner distance itself from the orbiting station while flying over central China.

NASA outlined the Starliner mission’s timeline last week, detailing the sequence from undocking to landing. Following the undocking, the spacecraft is to execute a de-orbit burn, followed by re-entry and a targeted landing. The landing at White Sands Space Harbor is anticipated for 12:03 a.m. Saturday.

At 6:24 p.m., the Starliner cleared the ISS’s “approach ellipsoid,” marking the official start of its return journey to Earth. The flight path is projected to pass over parts of northern Mexico and southwestern New Mexico, potentially making it visible in the night sky, weather permitting.

Previously, on June 5, the Starliner launched on its inaugural crewed flight, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS. However, complications arose when helium leaks and malfunctions were detected in the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters as it approached the station.

Due to safety concerns for the astronauts, NASA announced last month that Wilmore and Williams would remain aboard the ISS until February while the Starliner is autonomously returned to Earth without crew members. They are now scheduled to return home via the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, alongside two other crew members from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

According to NASA’s schedule, after undocking from the ISS, the Starliner will ignite a series of departure rockets. As it nears Earth, a deorbit burn lasting about 60 seconds will be carried out to slow the spacecraft sufficiently for re-entry into the atmosphere, ensuring it lands at the designated site.

The service module of the Starliner is expected to burn up upon re-entry over the southern Pacific Ocean, while the heat shield will be released when the spacecraft reaches approximately 30,000 feet. This will unveil a series of drag devices and parachutes to facilitate a safe landing.

As the Starliner descends to 3,000 feet, an additional heat shield will be discarded, and six inflatable landing bags will deploy. The spacecraft is projected to make a landing at White Sands at a gentle speed of around 4 mph.