Boeing's Starliner uncrewed spacecraft departs space station for Earth

NEW YORK, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Boeing's Starliner spacecraft departed the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday to begin its journey back to Earth with no astronaut onboard.

The uncrewed spacecraft autonomously undocked from the ISS at approximately 6:04 p.m. Eastern Time Friday, to start its journey home, according to NASA livestream.

The separation burns and breakout turns for Starliner's departure went well, according to NASA engineers.

Starliner is headed for a deorbit burn at 11:17 p.m. Eastern Time. The spacecraft is scheduled to land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at approximately 12:03 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday to conclude the mission.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams closed the hatch on Starliner for the final time at 1:29 p.m. Thursday. The duo were on deck to monitor the spacecraft's departure as it undocked from the forward-facing port of the Harmony module, according to NASA.

Wilmore and Williams launched aboard Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed spaceflight, arriving at the ISS on June 6.

As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters.

The astronaut duo were originally scheduled to stay at the ISS for eight days. Now they have spent three months in space.

NASA ultimately decided that sending the two astronauts home onboard Starliner was too risky. The new plan is to have the two astronauts ride home in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in February 2025, and have Starliner return to Earth uncrewed.