'Hatch closed': Boeing's troubled Starliner spaceship set to depart ISS sans Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore

Teams in Houston prepare the spacecraft to leave ISS (Image: Boeing Space, X)

Boeing's problem-plagued Starliner is set to finally depart the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, returning to Earth without astronauts after NASA deemed the risk too great.

The century-old aerospace giant's reputation has taken a hammering over thruster malfunctions and helium leaks its spaceship encountered on its way up to the orbital outpost in June, and the US space agency's subsequent decision to fly its crew back on a rival SpaceX Crew Dragon next year.

A smooth, uneventful ride home is critical not only for salvaging some pride but also for Boeing's prospects of securing certification to fly astronauts in the future.

Starliner will autonomously undock from the space station around 6:04 pm Eastern Time (2204 GMT), landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at approximately 0403 GMT.

#Starliner's hatch is closed, and teams in Houston are preparing the spacecraft to leave @Space_Station. Undocking coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. ET on Sept. 6, with a landing planned for ~12 a.m. ET on Sept. 7.Watch: https://t.co/rXY0gDNrO0 pic.twitter.com/DJ2L7yX8L1
Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) September 5, 2024

NASA opted to bring the ship home without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams despite Boeing's assurances of a safe flight.

The company carried out extensive ground testing that aimed to replicate the technical hitches the spaceship had experienced on its ascent, and devised plans to prevent more problems.

In the end, however, Boeing could not convince NASA it could be trusted to bring back the pair, who were originally meant to stay on the ISS for roughly a week as they tested out Starliner, but will now remain there until February.

"Boeing believed in the model that they had created that tried to predict the thruster degradation for the rest of the flight," Steve Stich, program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program told reporters this week.

But "the NASA team, due to the uncertainty in the modeling, could not get comfortable with that," he added, characterizing the mood during meetings as "tense."