NASA and Boeing celebrated the return of the Starliner capsule to Earth on Saturday, September 7, marking the successful conclusion of its first-ever crewed mission. The spacecraft, however, returned without any astronauts on board after departing from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday.

The Crew Flight Test (CFT), which commenced on June 5, faced a major setback when the Starliner encountered problems with its reaction control system (RCS) thrusters. This prompted NASA to make the decision of not using the capsule for the return journey of astronauts Sunita Williams and Wilmore, who are now slated to return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in February 2025. The Crew Dragon capsule is also expected to conduct the upcoming Crew-9 mission set for launch on September 24, although uncertainties surrounding subsequent missions remain.

The Starliner's previous uncrewed missions were met with challenges as well. While SpaceX successfully completed a Crew Dragon test mission in 2019, paving the way for its subsequent astronaut test flight, Boeing faced setbacks. Particularly in December 2019, an uncrewed test flight of the Starliner failed to reach the ISS due to software glitches. A second attempt in May 2022 proved to be a success, but lingering issues remained.

The Crew Flight Test, originally planned for a ten-day duration, was extended to three months as NASA identified thruster problems and helium leaks during its stay at the ISS. Most of these issues were traced back to overheating, prompting the focus of NASA's Commercial Crew Program to shift towards rectifying the thruster overheating problems.

While discussing the next steps, Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, emphasized the need to analyze data and work on fixing the known issues before proceeding with future flights. Stich mentioned the importance of understanding and mitigating the exact pulse sequences that cause overheating in the thrusters. Additionally, software changes aimed at reducing the demands placed on the thrusters will also be explored.

Despite the challenges faced during the Crew Flight Test, there were positives to note, such as the Starliner's successful performance during entry, descent, and landing. NASA and Boeing both acknowledged that lessons were learned from the mission, underscoring its experimental nature.

As the teams at NASA and Boeing analyze the data and work on addressing the technical challenges, the focus remains on ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the Starliner spacecraft in future crewed missions.