Two astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station due to problems with their capsule will now spend the rest of the year in space before returning to Earth, NASA said.
Seasoned NASA pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams They were expected to spend about a week in space when they took off in the Boeing Starliner for a test flight in June.
However, the the couple is already on the International Space Station since then, after the capsule failed.
NASA brass were debating whether it would be safe to send the pair back on the Starliner, which was supposed to land in the New Mexico desert.
On Saturday, the US space agency announced that the pair would return in one of the Elon Musk‘s Space X spacecraft in February 2025 – extending its stay.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: “A test flight by its very nature is neither safe nor routine. And so the decision… is a compromise on safety.”
NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free added: “This was not an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right decision.”
The Boeing Starliner is due to undock in early September and attempt to return on autopilot and land in the desert, in the latest blow to the struggling 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 mandated by NASA and preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful return without a crew.”
NASA officials are still hopeful that Starliner’s problems can be fixed in time for another crewed flight within a year or so.
A SpaceX capsule currently parked at the space station is reserved for four people who have been there since March.
They are due to return to Earth in late September, with their stay extended by a month due to the Starliner issues.
NASA said it would not be safe to put two more in the capsule except in an emergency.
The docked Russian Soyuz capsule is even more compact, capable of carrying just three people — two of them Russians, ending a one-year period.
The SpaceX flight that will carry Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams back is expected 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 helping with the work on the space station.