Two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in space for more than two months will be able to return to Earth again in February 2025, via SpaceX. NASA announced that the "Boeing Starliner" spacecraft with which Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) would return to Earth without a "crew". The two Austronauts thought their space mission would last just 8 days, but now they will spend months in space.
The "Boeing Starliner" experienced problems during the journey to the Space Station, including a helium leak, which posed a risk to the lives of two astronauts. Boeing and SpaceX received multi-billion dollar contracts from NASA to carry out several missions and space flights for its astronauts. Boeing was awarded $4.2 billion, while SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, $2.6 billion.
So far, SpaceX has made 9 manned space flights in cooperation with NASA, as well as several other missions, but for Boeing, this was the first manned mission. Boeing and NASA engineers have spent months understanding and improving the Starliner's technical issues, conducting tests and gathering information both in space and on Earth. Currently, their hope is to find the genesis of the problem and return the astronauts home as soon as possible.
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Bill Nelson, NASA administrator, said at a press conference that Boeing and NASA have been working closely to make improvements to the spacecraft.
"The decision has been made to extend the stay of the astronauts in the ISS until February 2025 and they will return with the spacecraft "Crew Dragon", he said.
This extra time allows SpaceX to launch the shuttle in late September. The spacecraft was originally supposed to have 4 members on board, but will have 2. This makes room for two astronauts in space to join the board. NASA has said that both astronauts have previously completed long-term stays in space and know the dangers of test flights, including longer stays on the station. It was further said that both astronauts fully support their return plans and will spend the next few months doing scientific work, possibly even doing spacewalks.
Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, launched in June on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, but the ship ran into problems. They arrived safely at the Space Station, but must return home in a way that does not endanger their lives. NASA declared the spacecraft unsafe, and in a statement, NASA officials said they would consider returning them to Earth.
