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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteBoeing’s Starliner landed without astronauts on September 6, 2024, after NASA decided that uncertainty over helium leaks and reaction-control thrusters made a crewed return an unacceptable risk. The capsule reportedly carried the two blue Boeing spacesuits Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had worn for launch; the astronauts remained on the International Space Station.
What happened to Starliner and its crew?
Starliner launched Wilmore and Williams on June 5, 2024, for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test—the first Starliner mission to carry astronauts. The spacecraft reached the International Space Station, but engineers identified helium leaks and problems involving its reaction-control thrusters.
On August 24, NASA announced that Starliner would return by itself. Wilmore and Williams stayed aboard the station and were reassigned to return with SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. NASA described the choice as a safety decision made because experts had not reached sufficient confidence that the spacecraft’s uncertainties met human-spaceflight safety and performance requirements.
When and where did Starliner land?
Starliner touched down at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico after a roughly three-month test flight. NASA’s mission closeout records the landing at 10:01 p.m. MDT on September 6, 2024. NASA’s landing-day coverage gives the same event as 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 7. The apparent date difference is only the result of time zones and midnight.
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NASA called the return successful and closed the crewed test flight. Boeing said the reusable crew module would be sent to Kennedy Space Center for analysis of its flight data.
Why did NASA return Starliner without astronauts?
Helium leaks
Helium is used to pressurize Starliner’s propulsion system. Leaks were identified as the spacecraft approached the station, adding uncertainty about how the system would perform during departure and re-entry.
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Reaction-control thruster performance
Several reaction-control thrusters showed problems during the mission. Those thrusters help control the spacecraft’s orientation and maneuvering. NASA’s concern was not simply whether Starliner could move, but whether its behavior was predictable enough to carry people home.
Safety confidence, not a single failure
NASA’s explanation emphasized uncertainty and the lack of expert concurrence that the combined risk met the agency’s requirements for a crewed return. Administrator Bill Nelson said keeping Wilmore and Williams on the station while bringing Starliner home uncrewed reflected NASA’s commitment to safety.
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Did the astronauts’ spacesuits come back?
Yes, according to a September 9, 2024, report by TIME: the two blue Boeing spacesuits used by Wilmore and Williams for launch returned inside Starliner. That suit detail comes from TIME’s reporting, not from NASA’s official landing or mission-closeout releases, which confirm the capsule’s uncrewed return but do not specify its suit contents.
The available reporting does not establish the suits’ weight, cargo arrangement, or whether any other personal equipment was aboard. The headline’s “two” refers to the reported pair of suits, not to a NASA-published cargo statistic.
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How did the uncrewed landing work?
NASA’s preflight landing explainer described Starliner’s planned autonomous sequence. Operational and weather checks would precede undocking, followed by departure burns and an approximately 60-second deorbit burn. The service module would separate and burn up during re-entry. The crew capsule was designed to deploy two drogue parachutes, then three main parachutes, and inflate six landing bags before touchdown.
Those figures describe the planned landing architecture in NASA’s explainer published before the landing; they are not a postflight inspection report.
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Starliner’s test-flight timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 5, 2024 | Wilmore and Williams launched on Boeing’s first Starliner flight with astronauts. |
| June 6 | NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and reaction-control thruster issues as Starliner approached the station. |
| August 24 | NASA announced that Starliner would return uncrewed and that the astronauts would remain aboard the ISS. |
| September 6–7 | Starliner landed at White Sands Space Harbor at 10:01 p.m. MDT on September 6, equivalent to 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 7. |
| After landing | Boeing planned to return the reusable crew module to Kennedy Space Center for data analysis. |
What the empty capsule meant
Starliner’s empty seats did not make the mission pointless. NASA classified it as a flight test and planned to use the collected data to assess requirements for certifying the spacecraft for regular crewed missions. The astronauts’ continued stay on the station separated the human safety decision from the need to complete Starliner’s atmospheric-return test.
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