Starliner, Boeing's fabulously expensive new spaceship, has returned to Earth without its astronauts after questions were raised about the craft's safety. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remain on the International Space Station, their weeklong mission indefinitely extended as NASA figured out the best way to bring them home. The current plan: they'll get a lift back on a SpaceX Crew Dragon run there early next year.
After Starliner's return, a Nasa spokesman said he was pleased at the successful landing but wished it could have gone as originally planned.
The flight back lasted six hours. After it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere parachutes were used to slow its descent at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on Saturday at 23:01 local time (05:01 GMT).
Nasa said earlier that Butch and Suni were in good spirits and in regular contact with their families.
The Friday evening mission schedule had me anxious about NASA and Boeing's expectations.
Boeing is on the hook for the Starliner's unanticipated costs—a miracle of foresight in government procurement. Consider that if Starliner hadn't gotten back in one piece, the U.S. space program would be more dependent on Elon Musk and Roscosmos than it already is.
