Uncrewed Boeing Starliner capsule undocks from space station for return to Earth

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
The uncrewed new Boeing Starliner capsule undocked from the International Space Station on Wednesday to begin a descent back to Earth from its first journey to the outpost, nearing the end of 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 US Space Force Base in Florida, the CST-100 Starliner autonomously separated from the space station at 2.36pm EDT to embark on a five-hour-plus return flight.
The undocking occurred as the two vehicles were orbiting 257 miles over Singapore, commentators said during a live NASA webcast of the maneuvers.