NASA officials announced on Saturday, August 24, that two astronauts aboard the Boeing Starliner, who have been stranded in space for 80 days, will remain in orbit for an additional six months. This extension follows technical issues that have plagued the mission.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5 aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, marking its first crewed mission. Initially intended as an eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the flight encountered significant setbacks, including thruster failures and helium leaks. These problems led NASA to keep the spacecraft docked at the ISS as engineers worked on potential fixes.
NASA initially awarded the multibillion-dollar contract for space missions to Boeing, choosing it over Elon Musk’s SpaceX. However, with the current situation, the astronauts are now scheduled to return to Earth in February aboard SpaceX's Dragon Crew-9 mission. The Boeing Starliner will be brought back to Earth without a crew.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized that the decision to extend the mission and switch to SpaceX for the return trip was made out of a "commitment to safety." Despite the setbacks, Nelson expressed confidence that the Starliner would fly with astronauts again in the future.
“This has not been an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one,” added NASA Associate Administrator James Free.
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