Boeing's Starliner space capsule safely returned to Earth on Saturday after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS). However, it completed the journey without the two astronauts who launched aboard it in early June. NASA test pilots Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore remain on the ISS and are expected to stay until February 2025.

The Starliner landed near White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at around 9:31 am IST, completing its six-hour journey back to Earth. Despite the successful landing, the mission faced challenges, including thruster failures and helium leaks. These technical issues led NASA to deem it too risky for Williams and Wilmore to return aboard the Starliner. Consequently, what was initially planned as an eight-day mission on the space station has now extended to eight months. The astronauts will instead return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon in February next year.