New Mexico
Uncrewed Boeing Starliner lands safely in New Mexico
Sept. 6 (UPI) — The uncrewed Boeing Starliner successfully landed in New Mexico late Friday after departing six hours earlier from the International Space Station.
The capsule left behind two astronauts — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — who must now remain in the station until February for a return home on a SpaceX capsule. NASA decided problems with Starliner’s thrusters and leaking helium made it too risky of a return with humans.
Starliner landed at White Sands Space Harbor at 10:01 p.m. MDT. Ground crews welcomed the capsule with plans to return it to Florida where it launched on June 6.
The autonomous undocking from the ISS was carried out as scheduled at 4:04 p.m. MDT after the craft was unhooked from the the forward module of the station. It slowly backed away while executing a series of 12 “breakout burns” over a 5-minute span, driving it farther away from the station while flying over central China.
The Starliner oriented itself as it plunged into the Earth’s atmosphere while still traveling at more than 17,000 miles per hour. The atmosphere was more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Three parachutes and thrusters slowed the craft and airbags were deployed.
Boeing is hoping to earn certification for future flights for NASA. NASA wants to rely on another company than Space-X and Russia’s Soyuz for Space Station missions.
Starliner is the first U.S-made capsule to land on the ground instead of splashing down in the ocean.
“It’s important to remember this was a test mission,” Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for space operations, said at a news conference after Starliner had landed.
“I want to recognize the work the Starliner teams did to ensure a successful and safe undocking, deorbit, reentry and landing,” Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, said. “We will review the data and determine the next steps for the program.”
NASA determined that the capsule’s propulsion system appeared stable, but the thruster issues posed too much of a risk for Starliner to return with a crew.
“If we’d had a model that would have predicted what we saw tonight perfectly, yeah, it looks like an easy decision to go say we could have had a crewed flight – but we didn’t have that,” Stitch said.
“From a human perspective, all of us feel happy about the successful landing,” he said. “But then there’s a piece of us, all of us, that we wish it would have been the way we had planned it. We had planned to have the mission land with Butch and Suni on board.”
Its flight path went over parts of northern Mexico and southwestern New Mexico, making it visible in the night sky over those areas depending on cloud cover.
On June 5, the Boeing spacecraft took off on its first crewed flight, transporting NASA Wilmore and Williams to the space station. However, as it approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and noted malfunctions with its reaction control thrusters.
Five of Starliner’s 28 “reaction control system” thrusters abruptly stopped working en route to the space station. Four were recovered and at least one stayed out of service for the entire mission.
NASA announced last month that out of concerns for the safety of Wilmore and Williams, they will remain aboard the ISS until February while Starliner is autonomously returned to Earth without a crew.
Wilmore and Williams are now scheduled to return home aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
“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.”
Its service module up during re-entry over the southern Pacific Ocean, while its heat shield was jettisoned at approximately 30,000 feet, exposing a series of drags and parachutes.
Instead, the thruster issues became the latest major setback for Boeing’s Starliner program, which even before the launch was more than $1.5 billion over budget and years behind schedule. An uncrewed test flight to the space station, which NASA required of Boeing before its spacecraft could carry astronauts, also went awry the first time, and the company had to repeat it in 2022.
The All-American Rejects played a pop-up show in a former alfalfa field in the South Valley after telling fans the location just hours before the concert.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A former alfalfa field in the South Valley served as the venue for one of the most highly-anticipated concerts of the year in New Mexico Wednesday night, although no one knew exactly where it would take place until a few hours before showtime.
The All-American Rejects, the band behind hits such as “Move Along” and “Dirty Little Secret” said they were coming to the Albuquerque area for a concert, but only fans who signed up for an alert received the exact location, and that didn’t come down until 5:55 p.m. Wednesday.
It’s part of the band’s free “House Party” concert series, which features performances in barns and backyards instead of more traditional venues in an effort to fight back against rising concert ticket prices.
“The whole tour, the message we’re trying to get across is what’s happened with concerts in general. It’s become a one-percenters club to have access to the one commodity we need for togetherness, which is music,” said Tyson Ritter, the lead singer and bassist for the band.
The owners of the property couldn’t believe their luck when they were selected. Jackeline and Thomas Ingham told KOB 4 their family’s properties in the South Valley have been used for weddings in the past, but certainly never for a major concert.
“And I thought it was a scam, so I hung up,” said Jackeline Ingham when asked about how the band’s manager reached out to her to set up the concert. “So, [my husband] is like, ‘Call her back!’ So, he ended up talking the rest of the way with her.”
Throughout the day, many fans of the All-American Rejects across New Mexico were trying to guess where the band might show up later in the evening.
“I thought it was either gonna be at Ex Novo, New Mexico United, or just somewhere in the South Valley because that’s what Reddit said all day,” said Brooke Palmer.
Fans within a 124-mile (200 km) radius were able to receive the band’s concert alert.
It ended with thousands of fans flocking to the area, and just before 8:30 p.m., an announcement was made saying the venue was at capacity, forcing many to leave.
Others remained outside the main gate trying to get the best view they could from afar.
But the band was ultimately happy with the former alfalfa field that was quickly turned into a concert stage.
“Well, this is number four. And this feels like this is the example,” said Ritter ahead of the show. “This is what a house party is. Right here, man. We’ve got a beautiful field, an incredibly generous host, the weather is with us.”
The professional rodeo season continues to heat up as we head into the spring and summer runs. Rodeos across the country drew top athletes over the recent weekend, as they vie for positions at the 2026 National Finals Rodeo (NFR).
Every dollar counts, especially as we enter the last five months of the 2026 season.
Riverdale Rodeo – Riverdale, Calif.
Bareback rider Jacob Lees earned two California victories on the weekend, scoring 81.5 points on Four Star Rodeo’s Sweet Annie in Riverdale. His 83.5-point ride on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Socket claimed the win in Stonyford.
Reigning Circuit Champion, Hayle Gibson-Stillwell, topped the barrel racing by two-tenths of a second with her time of 17.04 sconds.
Stonyford Rodeo – Stonyford, Calif.
California cowboy Bailey Small put together a solid weekend in his circuit, winning Stonyford with an 82.5-point ride on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Classy Clark. He also finished second in Riverdale.
Barrel racer Kathy Petska continues to dominate the circuit, claiming yet another spring win with a 17.50-second run.
American Royal Rodeo – Kansas City, Mo.
There are now two “Popes” to watch out for in the bareback riding — three-time NFR Average Champion and World Champion, Jess Pope, and his brother, Ty. Ty made a huge ride in Kansas City, scoring 87 points on Smith Pro Rodeos’ Broadway Boots for the win.
In 2025, Kansas cowboy Weston Patterson made his first NFR appearance and has carried that momentum into his 2026 season. Scoring 88 points on Korkow Rodeos’ Joker Poker, he claimed the saddle bronc riding win.
Pioneer Days Rodeo – Clovis, N.M.
Tie-down roper Buck Tate earned the win by over two full seconds, taking home $1,404.
Reigning Breakaway Roping World Champion Taylor Munsell claimed the $2,054 victory with a time of 1.8 seconds.
Helotes Festival Association Rodeo – Helotes, Texas
In bareback riding, Taylor Broussard matched up with Andrews Rodeo’s Empty Promises for a score of 85.5 points to earn the win.
Seven-time NFR qualifier, Isaac Diaz, topped the leaderboard with a score of 89 points on Diamond G Rodeo’s To The Limit. He earned the win in saddle bronc riding and $1,855.
PPCLA PRCA Rodeo – Mineral Wells, Texas
Sissy Winn put together a solid weekend in her circuit, topping the barrel racing in Mineral Wells and finishing fourth in Helotes.
Hailing from Winnie, Texas, Ethan Winckler made the only qualified ride in bull riding, scoring 87.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Mr. Blue Sky and taking home a whopping $4,863.
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