Washington : NASA has announced that the two astronauts stranded in space may not be able to return to Earth until 2025, due to problems with the new Starliner capsule. The agency explained that American astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams have been on the International Space Station since last June, although their stay was supposed to last no more than eight days. NASA indicated that the spacecraft was able, after its launch from Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida, to dock with the International Space Station on the second attempt due to engine problems, in addition to the spacecraft being exposed to a helium leak.
The agency said it is currently discussing how to return the astronauts to Earth, either by flying them back aboard Starliner or by replacing two of the four astronauts on the SpaceX Crew 9 mission, which is scheduled to launch in September. A final decision on when and how the astronauts will return will be made after NASA completes its highest-level flight readiness review. Starliner is a partially reusable spacecraft, consisting of a capsule about 3 meters high for the crew and a service module, unlike SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which does not land on water but on land.
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