NASA says two astronauts trapped on ISS will return to Earth in February

astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams They were scheduled to return to Earth in mid-June, just over a week after launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but engine failures and small helium leaks in the Starliner prevented their return.

“NASA has decided that Butch and Suni will return with a crew next February, and Starliner will return uncrewed.”

This was announced at a press conference in Houston by the US space agency administrator Bill Nelson, putting an end to weeks of speculation.

Nelson acknowledged “mistakes” and said NASA worked with Boeing – in direct contact with its new CEO Kelly Ortberg – to get “the data we need to make this decision” and understand the “root causes” of Starliner’s problems and “design improvements” what you need.

NASA had previously said it had no return date for the two astronauts and was considering a February 2025 return on a SpaceX Dragon capsule – as part of a mission called Crew-9 – a fact that was finally confirmed after agency leaders met today to review data.

The two astronauts “will return home on the Dragon spacecraft along with two other crew members assigned to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission,” NASA said in a statement Starliner is estimated to make a “safe, controlled, and autonomous turnaround and land in early September.”

The SpaceX mission is expected to launch on September 24 from Kennedy Space Center. It was originally planned to accommodate four people, but two will be needed to accommodate the stranded astronauts, who will return to duty in the coming months.

“Spaceflight is risky even when it is safe and routine, and a test flight is not inherently safe and routine, so the decision to leave Butch and Suni on the ISS and return the empty Boeing Starliner is a commitment to safety,” Nelson said.

Boeing, which was not present at the press conference, said via X that it was continuing “focused on the safety of the crew and the ship” And “carries out a mission specified by NASA” and preparing Starline for return without a crew.