Image Source: NDTV

Boeing's new Starliner unmanned spacecraft returned to Earth on Sunday, landing in the New Mexico desert in the United States six days early after a clock problem scuppered a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

NASA hailed the aborted flight as a success, despite its failure to reach the ISS on what was meant to be a final dress rehearsal before a crewed mission.

Images broadcast by NASA showed the spacecraft touching down, cushioned by airbags after a pre-dawn descent slowed by three large parachutes.