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.
Boeing and NASA teams work around NASA’s Boeing Starliner spacecraft after it landed uncrewed on Friday at White Sands, N.M. NASA Photo by Aubrey Gemignani/UPI
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.
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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.
Boeing and NASA teams unload cargo from NASA’s Boeing Starliner spacecraft after it landed uncrewed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, on Frida. NASA Photo by Aubrey Gemignani/UPI
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.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft descends under parachutes toward its landing site in New Mexico during its return to Earth on Friday night. Photo by NASA/UPI
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.
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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is seen during its return to Earth after undocking from the International Space Station at 6:04 p.m. EDT on Friday. Photo by NASA/UPI
Boeing and NASA teams on Thursday participated in a dress rehearsal to prepare for the planned landing of the uncrewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft at White Sands, N.M. The craft is scheduled to land at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbors shortly after midnight on Saturday. Photo by Aubrey Gemignani/NASA
“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.
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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.”
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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.
Tin art has been a long tradition throughout New Mexico. In fact, it’s existed since the 15th century when the Spanish brought it over.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Tin art has been a long tradition throughout New Mexico. In fact, it’s existed since the 15th century when the Spanish brought it over.
KOB 4 introduces you to an artist who wants to make sure that tradition carries on for generations to come.
“You can make anything out of it, just a piece of metal, bend it and put it together,” said Tom Lujan, a tin artist.
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For many families, the beloved tradition has been passed down from parents to children and beyond.
“I’m second generation, and my grandson is learning it now, and he’s third generation,” said Lujan.
Lujan has been creating tin art his whole life, but for the past 15 years, he’s dedicated his retirement to his hobby.
Lujan came out to Albuquerque’s third annual Ageless Artisan Craft Fair to sell his work, but he doesn’t necessarily keep the profit.
“Really, the only thing I use the money for, to buy more supplies,” Lujan said.
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He also shared the event gives him a space to meet new people. Something, Esperanza Molina with the city strives for.
“The reason we created it is so that all of our seniors had a place for them to sell their artwork that they make at our centers,” said Esperanza Molina, a center supervisor for the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center. “And it’s a great opportunity for them to be able to share their stories or share their talents that they have.”
Lujan has made it his goal to teach not only his grandson, but his community how to create tin art with weekly classes at the Barelas Senior Center and South Valley Multigenerational Center.
“Really the only thing you need right to start off with, is a nail, a hammer, shears,” said Lujan. “I really enjoy helping people learn it. And I like to make big pieces. I usually make big crosses or big mirrors.”
He especially loves teaching younger generations to make sure the tradition carries on.
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“They can keep up the tradition, I don’t want it fading away. Just like a lot of things that do fade away as you get older,” Lujan said.
According to Lujan, tin art can come from anywhere.
“After you finish your soup, you can cut it up and make something out of an ornament or whatever,” said Lujan. “Make it into a piece of art.”
Moments after New Mexico’s football team surprised the sporting world with a 38-35 win over No. 19 Washington State (hailing from the Apple State) Saturday night, Albuquerque’s Jon Jones assured the sporting world he’s still the cage master with a dominating UFC performance in the Big Apple.
The Associated Press national player of the week in college football for Week 12 of the season:
Devon Dampier, New Mexico
Dampier ran for three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 23 seconds left, and threw for another score in the Lobos’ 38-35 home win over then-No. 19 Washington State.
Dampier finished with 193 yards rushing and 174 yards passing as the Lobos beat a ranked team for the first time in 27 games since 2003.
Dampier, who had 143 of his rushing yards in the second half, went 33 yards to begin the Lobos’ comeback from a 28-14 halftime deficit. His 1-yard run for the go-ahead score ended an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
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Dampier’s performance helped the Lobos improve to 5-6, their most wins since 2016.
Runner-up
South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers’ 15-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left gave the Gamecocks a 34-30 win over Missouri and punctuated a day when he threw for career highs of 353 yards and five TDs.
Sellers has 10 TD passes against just one interception over the last five games, and he became the first South Carolina quarterback to throw for five TDs in a game since Jake Bentley did it against Clemson in 2018.
Honorable mention
Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson caught a career-high 12 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-14 win at Kansas State. It was the most receiving yards by an ASU player since 2015. … Stanford WR Emmett Mosley caught 13 passes for 168 yards in a 38-35 win over Louisville. Mosley’s TD catches of 4 and 25 yards tied the game before the Cardinal won on Emmet Kenney’s 52-yard field goal as time expired. … Clemson DE T.J. Parker recorded a career-high and school-record-tying four of the Tigers’ eight sacks in a 24-20 win over Pittsburgh. … Clemson QB Cade Klubnik threw for 288 yards and two TDs, and his 50-yard touchdown run with 1:16 left gave the Tigers the go-ahead score. … Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns and broke the program’s single-season rushing record in a 42-21 win at San Jose State. Jeanty has 1,893 rushing yards for the season.
Six stats
— Kansas’ 17-13 win at BYU gave the Jayhawks back-to-back victories over ranked opponents in consecutive weeks for the first time. KU beat Iowa State the week before.
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— Georgia has won eight straight over Tennessee, all by double digits. It’s the longest winning streak for the Bulldogs in a series dating to 1899.
— Tulane won 21 American Athletic Conference games in its first eight years in the league; it has 22 wins in AAC play the last three seasons.
— Memphis’ Seth Henigan threw for four touchdowns against UAB to become the only active FBS player with four seasons with at least 20 TD passes at the same school.
— Illinois’s 38-16 victory over Michigan State gave the Illini a sixth home win for the first time since 2001.
— Nebraska is 0-8 in two years under Matt Rhule in games where a win would have made the Cornhuskers bowl-eligible. The Huskers haven’t been to a bowl since 2016, the longest drought in the Power Four.
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AP voters: Aaron Beard, Pat Graham, Gary B. Graves, Stephen Hawkins, Pete Iacobelli, Mark Long, John Marshall, Eric Olson, John Zenor.
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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