Science News Summary: NASA says Boeing Starliner is 'healthy', to land in New Mexico

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. NASA says Boeing Starliner is 'healthy', to land in New Mexico

The Boeing Co Starliner spacecraft that failed to reach the right orbit to reach the International Space Station is "healthy," in a stable orbit and expected to land in New Mexico on Sunday morning, NASA said on Saturday. The Boeing CST-100 Starliner astronaut capsule was successfully launched from Florida on Friday, but an automated timer error prevented the spacecraft from attaining the correct orbit for it to rendezvous and dock with the space station. NASA and Boeing officials said on a Saturday conference call they are still investigating the causes of the failure. 'Not for the faint of heart:' Critical landing test ahead for Boeing Starliner

The Boeing Co Starliner spacecraft that failed in its mission to reach the International Space Station was due to barrel down to the Earth's surface early on Sunday with the daunting task of landing safely. Boeing and NASA officials said they still do not understand why software caused the unmanned craft to miss the orbit required to rendezvous with the space station following its successful launch on Friday. Boeing's failed Starliner mission strains 'reliability' pitch

Boeing Co's stunted Friday debut of its astronaut capsule threatens to dent the U.S. aerospace incumbent's self-declared competitive advantage of mission reliability against the price and innovation strengths of "new space" players like Elon Musk's SpaceX. Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, has anchored its attempt to repel space visionaries like Musk and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos partly on its mission safety record built up over decades of space travel. Boeing's Starliner astronaut capsule fails key test to reach space station

Boeing Co's new astronaut capsule failed after liftoff on Friday to climb high enough in orbit to reach the International Space Station, cutting short a critical unmanned test mission in the embattled aerospace giant's race to send humans to the orbital outpost. The CST-100 Starliner astronaut capsule was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, but an automated timer error, which Boeing could not immediately explain, prevented the spacecraft from attaining the orbit that would have put it on track to rendezvous and dock with the space station, NASA said.