Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft landed safely at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico early Saturday morning after a six-hour journey from the International Space Station (ISS).

The spacecraft, originally intended to carry two astronauts back to Earth, returned uncrewed due to technical malfunctions.

The Starliner autonomously detached from the ISS at approximately 6:04 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday and landed at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived at the ISS aboard Starliner in June, were initially scheduled to return after an eight-day mission.

However, complications, including helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters, forced them to remain in space.

After evaluating the risks, NASA decided it was too dangerous to bring the astronauts back on Starliner. Instead, they will return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in February 2025. The uncrewed return of Starliner represents a significant setback for Boeing, whose crewed spaceflight program has been delayed for nearly four years due to various technical issues.

Both Boeing and SpaceX were contracted by NASA in 2014 to develop spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the ISS, following the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2011.

While SpaceX began successful crewed missions in 2020, Boeing has faced repeated challenges with Starliner’s development, delaying its first human spaceflight until this year.

NASA had hoped this mission would pave the way for Starliner’s certification for regular crewed flights. However, it is now unclear how the recent technical failures will impact Boeing’s spaceflight program moving forward.