NASA announced on Saturday, August 24, that the two Boeing Starliner astronauts who have been stranded in space for 80 days will remain there for an additional six months, a concerning update from the space agency.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams embarked on their mission aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on June 5, following NASA’s decision to award a multi-billion dollar contract to Boeing over Elon Musk’s SpaceX for space missions.
The mission, intended to last eight days, was marred by significant technical issues, including thruster failures and helium leaks, leading NASA to keep the spacecraft docked as engineers worked on a solution.
NASA now reports that Wilmore and Williams are expected to return to Earth in February 2025 using a SpaceX spacecraft, as the Boeing Starliner will be sent back unmanned. The decision to delay their return was described by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson as being driven by a “commitment to safety.”
Despite this setback, Nelson assured that NASA remains “100 percent” confident that the Starliner will carry an astronaut crew in the future. “This has not been an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one,” added NASA Associate Administrator James Free.
