Boeing Starliner Misses ISS Rendezvous Due to Internal Clock Error
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft fails to reach the International Space Station after a timer anomaly causes it to burn too much fuel. The capsule returns to Earth early while investigators search for the cause of the malfunction.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft successfully launches into space atop an Atlas V rocket but fails to reach the International Space Station due to a critical internal clock error. Following separation from the rocket, the capsule's system timer mistakenly believes it is in a different mission phase. This glitch causes the spacecraft to execute the wrong engine burn, wasting too much fuel to successfully dock with the ISS.
NASA mission control faces additional challenges when it temporarily loses the ability to communicate with Starliner through orbital satellites. Once engineers reestablish contact, they decide to forgo the ISS docking and instead stabilize the vehicle in a safe orbit for an early return. Officials emphasize that a human crew would have easily overridden the automation to correct the trajectory and remain safe.
The aerospace agency and Boeing currently investigate why the timer malfunctions and evaluate what other mission objectives Starliner can achieve with its remaining fuel. The spacecraft touches down Sunday morning at the White Sands desert in New Mexico as planned. It remains unclear if this setback requires another uncrewed test flight or how it impacts the future timeline for crewed missions.