Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is heading home, albeit with no one inside.
The Starliner left its docking port at the space station just after 6 p.m. ET, according to NASA. The capsule will spend about six hours free-flying through orbit as it slowly makes its descent toward home.
Before the capsule departed, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — the two NASA astronauts who flew Starliner to the space station back in June — wished the spacecraft, nicknamed “Calypso” by Williams, luck on its long-awaited and unexpected journey home.
“It is time to bring Calypso home,” Williams said to mission control Friday evening. “You have got this. We have your backs, and you’ve got this. Bring her back to Earth.”
This was Starliner’s first crewed mission which was supposed to prove it was finally ready for regular operation after years of delays and going way over budget. But two…
