Boeing's Starliner returns to Earth after extended mission, crew remains on ISS

​​​​​​​By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - NASA announced that Boeing's uncrewed Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2204GMT Friday for its return to Earth.

The capsule is scheduled for a deorbit burn at 0317GMT Saturday, with a targeted landing at 0400 GMT at White Sands Space Harbor in the southwestern US state of New Mexico.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were originally scheduled to return on the Starliner, will remain aboard the ISS until February 2025, extending their mission from eight days to more than eight months. They are expected to return to Earth on Elon Musk's SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

The decision to keep the astronauts on the ISS was made after NASA deemed it too risky to return them on Boeing's malfunctioning capsule.

The Starliner, which launched June 5, suffered persistent helium leaks, leading to four postponements of its return.