'Bull's-eye' landing in New Mexico for Boeing's Starliner astronaut capsule
Boeing Co's Starliner astronaut spacecraft made a "bull's-eye" landing in the New Mexico desert on Sunday (December 22), a successful ending to a crewless test mission that two days earlier failed to reach the orbit needed to dock with the International Space Station.
The 7:58 a.m. ET (1258 GMT) landing at the White Sands desert capped a turbulent 48 hours for Boeing's botched milestone test of an astronaut capsule that is designed to help NASA regain its human spaceflight capabilities.
A software problem on Friday caused the capsule to fail to attain the orbit needed to rendezvous with the space station, another unwelcome engineering black eye for Boeing in a year that has seen corporate crisis over the grounding of its 737 MAX jetliner following two fatal crashes of the aircraft.
Officials from the aerospace company and NASA breathed sighs of relief following the landing, a highly challenging feat.
"I can tell you this morning, we're all very excited that a whole lot more things did go right. Went very, very well, as a matter of fact," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters on Sunday.
After Starliner's touchdown, teams of engineers in trucks raced to inspect the vehicle, whose six airbags cushioned its impact on the desert surface as planned, a live video feed showed.
The spacecraft was in good condition after landing, Chilton said, with little charring and stable air pressure and temperature in the cabin.
(Source: Reuters)
Russia says US facing humiliation in Ukraine like in Vietnam
US set to send additional military personnel to Kiev
Russia: New US aid for Ukraine will fail to change military situation
VIDEO | Smirking at lies
200 days of genocide: Palestinian resistance prevails over occupation
Ukraine launches drone strikes on Russia's energy sites
VIDEO | Anti-US sentiments grow in Iraq as US military presence unresolved
Jamaica officially recognizes state of Palestine
Raeisi attends inauguration of Iran-built mega multipurpose project in Sri Lanka
'Sinwar still supervising Gaza war; Israel deliberately delaying talks on captives'
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
