Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams (Image: Getty) Two astronauts left stuck on the International Space Station due to troubles with their capsule will now spend the rest of the year in space before returning to Earth, NASA has said. Seasoned NASA pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams expected to spend about a week in space when they took off on the Boeing Starliner for a test flight in June. However the pair have now been on the International Space Station since then after the capsule developed a fault.
NASA's top brass had been debating whether it was safe to send the pair back in the Starliner - which they were scheduled to land in the desert in New Mexico. function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.createElement('script');el.
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Log('[Load] OVP tcfLoaded',new Date())})}},1500)}) On Saturday, the American space agency announced the pair would come back on one of Elon Musk 's SpaceX spacecraft in February 2025 - prolonging their stay. Read More: Images capture the celestial beauty of the Northern Lights - from space [LATEST] The Starliner took off in June (Image: Getty) NASA Adminstrator Bill Nelson said: "A test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine. And so the decision .
.. is a commitment to safety.
" NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free added: "This has not been an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one." The Boeing Starliner is set to undock in early September and attempt to return on autopilot and touch down in the desert - in the latest blow for the beleaguered company. In a statement, Boeing said: "Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft.
"We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return." NASA officials still hold out hope that Starliner’s problems can be corrected in time for another crew flight in another year or so. Don't miss.
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This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy A SpaceX capsule currently parked at the space station is reserved for four people who have been there since March.
They are set to return to Earth in late September, with their stay extended a month due to the issues with the Starliner. NASA has said it would be unsafe to squeeze two more into the capsule, except in an emergency. The docked Russian Soyuz capsule is even tighter, capable of flying only three – two of them Russians wrapping up a year-long stint.
The SpaceX flight that will take Mr Williams and Ms Williams home is due to launch in late September with two astronauts instead of the usual four for a routine six-month stay. The two astronauts, former navy pilots with significant experience in space, said they had no complaints and enjoyed pitching in with space station work..
