Boeing space capsule lands after aborted mission

The crew of the International Space Station won’t receive their Christmas presents as planned. An improperly set clock on Boeing’s Starliner space capsule caused officials to abort its planned weeklong test mission and land it in the New Mexico desert on Sunday. Piloted by a test dummy named “Rosie the Rocketeer,” Starliner was to dock with the space station and deliver presents as well as clothes and food to the crew.

Was the mission a complete bust? Boeing and NASA celebrated the capsule’s safe and accurate landing. Starliner is the first American-made capsule designed for astronauts to land on dry ground instead of an ocean splashdown. Boeing officials also were happy to get Starliner back intact for either another test or a mission carrying real astronauts.

Dig deeper: Boeing announced Monday that CEO Dennis Muilenburg is resigning immediately amid ongoing problems with the company’s 737 Max airplanes. Read Rachel Lynn Aldrich’s report in The Sift about Boeing’s decision to halt production of the planes.