Oh good. But do you think NASA would be willing to take the loss of face required to ask for the lift home?
Either way …..they pay for it or maybe more accurately…..we pay for it. I’m sure Boeing will make the argument: “one way trips are almost the same price as a round trip”.
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you. After Challenger and Columbia it's the ONLY decision they could make. ...... err on the side of caution. ...... of course it's space, soooo, everything is a risk. Boeing's first crewed Starliner will return to Earth empty sometime in September, with its two astronauts waiting until February 2025. https://www.space.com/nasa-boeing-starliner-astronauts-will-return-on-spacex-dragon-2025 BUT, they are still very worried even undocking Starliner with unreliable and erratic thrusters. The whole ISS is in danger, no joke. .
Why not leave it docked? Musk already has the contract to de-orbit the ISS ......let it burn up with the rest of the space junk.
Traffic jam. Apparently they need the dock. It has to be gone for the next SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon. "The Starliner is taking up a necessary docking port. The space station is at capacity with all of its docking ports full, and one must be free before the Crew-9 Dragon can launch." Image Unavailable, Please Login .
Starliner =Space Junk. Complete disaster for Boeing and NASA since the Starliner was the old boys network answer to Musk. Fire everyone associated with it and demand a refund from Boeing.
Starliner undocking 6:04 pm ET ..... NOW Springs should safely move the capsule away from the ISS. watch here: https://www.youtube.com/live/_79y0yZs0dc?si=e8eY_jXDVlkhvtA1 .
Undocking successful/normal. Starliner will land (uncrewed) just after midnight EDT (approx. 6 hrs after undocking) in New Mexico's White Sands Space Harbor, if all goes according to plan. .
Successful re-entry/landing. ............ next stop, the CRUSHER!!! , then BURN IT!!! Image Unavailable, Please Login .
February 2025 - at the end of SpaceX's Crew-9 (Sept. 24 liftoff target) normal six month ISS rotation and will bring home the Starliner astronauts after roughly eight months in space. This is not Starliner astronauts first rodeo. They are highly experienced/seasoned and will be kept busy for the time they are there. https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-9-astronauts-cuts-boeing-starliner-return .
Extended zero-G is really bad for the human body. I'll bet they will be in pretty bad shape when they get back home. Getting re-acclimated to Earth's gravity probably won't be much fun.
About 270-280 days. So 100 days less than the US record, and we’ll short of the Russian record. They’ll be fine.
