NO CHRISTMAS PRESENTS FOR THE ISS: Last night the International Space Station glided over Pete Lardizabal's home in St Johns, Florida. "I photographed it between a gap in the clouds--and it looked so lonely!" he says. "No Christmas presents for the astronauts this year."
Indeed, their Christmas delivery has been canceled. The Boeing Starliner capsule, test-launched on an Atlas V rocket yesterday from Cape Canaveral, failed to reach the proper orbit to rendezvous with the ISS. The unmanned capsule was carrying presents for the astronauts, which they will no longer receive.
Analysts say that a timing error led the capsule to burn fuel too early, preventing it from reaching the desired orbit. It is now expected to land back in New Mexico on Sunday with its payload of Christmas gifts and a mannequin named "Rosie." Rosie is fitted with sensors to make sure the trip was safe for humans. Those data will be crucial to Boeing's ongoing efforts to build a human-rated space capsule, making the flight a success even if it did not go all the way to the (lonely) ISS.