Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returns to Earth without the crew it took to space

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft that transported two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) has returned home without the astronauts.

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Boeing's first astronaut mission to the ISS ended in failure when NASA deemed its Starliner spacecraft unsafe to transport the two astronauts it took to the ISS in June back to the surface of Earth. The mission was originally meant to be eight days, but now the astronauts will stay aboard the ISS until February next year when they will hitch a ride on Boeing's competitor's spacecraft, SpaceX's Dragon capsule.

Starliner parachuted into New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range on Friday. It has since been collected and will undergo a thorough evaluation to determine what caused the helium leaks that ultimately led to its mission's failure. Preliminary analysis of Starliner's problem from engineers led to the suspicion that Starliner's thrusters were getting too hot, causing the protective seals to swell and eventually obstruct the flow of propellant or liquid helium.

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Despite this debacle with Starliner, Boeing intends to further develop the capsule and fulfill NASA's goal of having two private US companies compete for transportation missions to the ISS and other US space-based operations.

"We are excited to have Starliner home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system," said Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months."