After a few days at the International Space Station, astronauts will close the hatch on the Starliner capsule as the spacecraft starts its return trip to Earth.
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There was a farewell ceremony and an official hatch closing.
The Boeing Starliner capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 19 and arrived at the ISS on May 20, the first time the capsule made it to the station.
"Welcome to #Starliner for the very first time ever, in space." @Astro_FarmerBob takes us on a tour inside the @BoeingSpace spacecraft that arrived on Friday, May 20, on a demonstration flight to the International @Space_Station: pic.twitter.com/uaezcvaWGw
— NASA (@NASA) May 21, 2022
Starliner will autonomously undock from the ISS to return home on Wednesday at 2:36 p.m. NASA and Boeing are targeting a 6:49 p.m. landing at White Sands Space Harbour in New Mexico, with a backup opportunity to land planned for Friday.
If the capsule returns home successfully and provided there are no other issues, the next step would be another Starliner mission, this time with astronauts on board.