(BBC News) Two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in space for over two months are scheduled to return to Earth in February 2025 with SpaceX.
NASA said the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on which astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore had travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) would return to Earth “un-crewed”.
The pair took off on what was planned to be an eight-day mission on June 5 but will spend around eight months in orbit.
The Starliner experienced problems on its way to the ISS, including leaks of helium, which pushes fuel into the propulsion system. Several thrusters also did not work properly.
Boeing and SpaceX were both awarded billion-dollar contracts by NASA to provide commercial space flights for its astronauts. Boeing’s NASA contract was worth $4.2 billion, while SpaceX, which was founded by billionaire Elon Musk, got $2.6 billion.
SpaceX has so far sent nine crewed flights to space for NASA, as well as some commercial missions, but this was Boeing’s first attempt at a crewed mission.
Engineers at Boeing and NASA have spent months trying to understand the technical issues with the Starliner craft.
They have been carrying out tests and gathering data, both in space and back on the Earth. Their hope was to pin down the root of the problems and find a way to return the astronauts home safely.
