After spending a little less than a week at the space station, Boeing\u2019s new passenger spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, returned to Earth this afternoon, landing intact with the help of parachutes and airbags in the New Mexico desert. The successful touchdown brings an end to a crucial test flight for Starliner, one that showcased the vehicle\u2019s ability to launch to space, dock with the station, and then return home safely.<\/p>\n

Shaped like a gumdrop, Boeing\u2019s Starliner capsule was built in partnership with NASA in order to launch the agency\u2019s astronauts to and from the International Space Station, or ISS. The mission is part of NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program, which challenged private companies with creating space taxis to carry people to low Earth orbit. But before NASA will let its personnel ride on the vehicle, the space agency wanted Starliner to demonstrate that it could go through all the motions of a trip to the ISS \u2014 without people on board.<\/p>\n