Boeing Starliner spacecraft returns uncrewed to Earth as stranded NASA astronauts turn their hands to new tasks on the ISS

• Boeing's Starliner spacecraft has safely returned to Earth — but without its astronauts.
• The spacecraft had suffered a number of issues with its thrusters and helium leaks.
• NASA said it decided to "prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew."

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth uncrewed after a three-month flight test to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA said on Saturday.

The spacecraft successfully landed at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on September 6.

The Starliner launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on June 5 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board, in what was intended to be a short eight-day mission dubbed the "Crew Flight Test."

The mission was Starliner's final flight test and aimed to "validate the transportation system," with the astronauts checking its operational capabilities.

But the Starliner craft ran into problems before it even reached the ISS, with NASA and Boeing identifying helium leaks and issues with its thrusters as it approached the space station.

"Following weeks of in-space and ground testing, technical interchange meetings, and agency reviews, NASA made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew," NASA said. "Wilmore and Williams will continue their work aboard station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew, returning in February 2025 with the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission."

Having long finished their primary tasks, NASA said Wilmore and Williams have now turned to helping the other ISS crew with maintenance tasks, science experiments, and station research.

"Some of the science they've recently completed includes new ways to produce fiber optic cables and growing plants aboard the orbiting complex," NASA said.

It added that the station was "well-stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing, and oxygen" and that Wilmore and Williams "understood the possibilities and unknowns," of their mission, "including being aboard station longer than planned."

Ken Bowersox, an associate administrator at the Space Operations Mission Directorate, said of the Starliner's return: "Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible."