Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth, capping key uncrewed test mission

FILE PHOTO: File photo: Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule launches aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on a second un-crewed test flight to the International Space Station, at Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Steve Nesius

Boeing Co's <BA.N> Starliner astronaut capsule returned from the International Space Station and landed in New Mexico on Wednesday, capping a high-stakes test flight as NASA's next vehicle for carrying humans to orbit.

Less than a week after its launch from the Cape Canaveral U.S. Space Force Base in Florida, the CST-100 Starliner capsule plunged through Earth's atmosphere Wednesday evening ahead of a parachute-assisted descent over the desert of White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico. It touched down on time at 6:49 p.m. EDT (2249 GMT).