NASA announced on Saturday that the two astronauts who have been stranded in space for months at the International Space Station will not return until Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launches next February. The decision comes amid growing concerns over Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
According to a NASA press release, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the agency’s decision on Saturday, confirming that astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain at the International Space Station until February.
“Wilmore and Williams will continue their work formally as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025,” the press release stated. “They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Starliner is expected to depart from the space station and make a safe, controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September.”
Announcing the decision on Saturday, Nelson explained that “spaceflight is risky” and that the decision to keep the two astronauts on the International Space Station for several more months instead of attempting to have the astronauts return on the Boeing Starliner was a “result of a commitment to safety.”
According to NBC News, NASA’s decision comes after months of speculation regarding the return of the two stranded astronauts, who were only expected to remain in space for roughly eight days.
Addressing Saturday’s decision, NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said, “This has not been an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one.”
READ MORE: Video: NASA sends cat video 19 million miles through space
Following Saturday’s announcement that the astronauts would be returning on a SpaceX spacecraft, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell tweeted, “SpaceX stands ready to support NASA however we can.”
According to NBC News, Steve Stich, the manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, explained that while Boeing officials had expressed confidence in the company’s aircraft, NASA’s decision to have the stranded astronauts wait to return until February was unanimous.
“There was just too much uncertainty in the prediction of the thrusters,” Stich stated. “If we had a model, [if] we had a way to accurately predict what the thrusters would do for the undock and all the way through the de-orbit burn, through the separation sequence, I think we would have taken a different course of action.”
In a statement addressing NASA’s decision to have the astronauts remain at the International Space Station while the Boeing Starliner returns uncrewed in September, Boeing said, “We continue to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft. We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return.”
