Boeing's Starliner to come home empty

What happened

NASA plans to bring Boeing's troubled Starliner space capsule back to Earth on Sept. 6, undocking it from the International Space Station while leaving behind the two astronauts who flew up in the craft's inaugural crewed flight in June. Barring weather delays or other setbacks, the Starliner capsule will land in New Mexico on Saturday. Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore will return on a SpaceX spacecraft in February.

Who said what

"It's been a journey to get here, and we're excited to have Starliner undock and return," Steve Stich, NASA's commercial crew program manager, said Wednesday. There was "some tension in the room," he acknowledged, when NASA decided it was prudent to bring the capsule home empty, despite Boeing's confidence in the craft's thrusters. Williams and Wilmore, who expected an eight-day trip to the ISS, are "ready to execute whatever mission we put in front of them," said Dana Weigel, NASA's program manager for the space station.

Starliner's crewless return is a "stinging loss for Boeing" and "even a successful landing will be something of a hollow victory," The Washington Post said. The June test flight was supposed to "lead to regular operational missions" to the ISS, alternating with SpaceX's spacecraft, but now the Starliner's future is unclear.

What next?

The SpaceX Crew Dragon slated to bring Williams and Wilmore home is scheduled to launch Sept. 24, with two seats empty for their return flight.

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