Boeing astronaut ship stalls in orbit
The Boeing company is going to have to cut short the uncrewed demonstration flight of its new astronaut capsule.
The Starliner launched successfully on its Atlas rocket from Florida, but then suffered technical problems that prevented it from taking the right path to the International Space Station.It appears the capsule burnt too much fuel as it fired its engines, leaving an insufficient supply to complete its planned mission.
Starliner will now come back to Earth.
A landing is expected at New Mexico's White Sands testing range on Sunday.
The craft will use parachutes and airbags to make a soft touchdown on desert terrain.
The Administrator of Nasa, Jim Bridenstine, said in a press conference that Starliner had experienced a timing "anomaly". This led the automated capsule to become confused over where it was in its mission sequence and prompting it to initiate an incorrect burn on its thrusters.
Flight controllers recognised the problem but were unable to intervene quickly enough because the capsule was passing between satellite links.
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