Boeing’s troubled space capsule lands on Earth without astronauts

The empty Boeing Starliner capsule sits at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (Boeing via AP)

Boeing’s first astronaut mission ended on Friday night with an empty capsule landing and two test pilots still in space, left behind until next year because Nasa judged their return too risky.

Six hours after leaving the International Space Station, Starliner parachuted into New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, descending on autopilot through the desert darkness.