NASA said its two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station will return home in a SpaceX spacecraft in early 2025, while the Boeing (NYSE:) spacecraft that carried them to the station will return without a crew.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain aboard the International Space Station until February 2025, before returning home in a SpaceX Dragon capsule as part of the Crew 9 mission. The mission is set to launch in early September, NASA said in a statement.
Wilmore and Williams became stranded aboard the International Space Station in June after Boeing’s Starliner capsule apparently malfunctioned during a test flight. The flight was originally scheduled to last at least nine days, but was postponed indefinitely while the agency scrambled to determine what caused the Starliner malfunction.
“The uncertainty and lack of expert approval did not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, prompting NASA leadership to move the astronauts to the Crew 9 mission,” NASA said in a statement.
The capsule will now return to Earth unmanned, and is expected to re-enter and land autonomously in early September.
Media reports earlier in August showed that NASA was in discussions with Elon Musk’s SpaceX about returning Wilma and Williams to the Dragon spacecraft, especially since the agency has been unable to determine the root cause of what went wrong with the Starliner.
Its decision to move forward with SpaceX represents another problem for Boeing, which was already facing increasing scrutiny over the safety standards of its commercial aircraft.
SpaceX has a contract with NASA to supply cargo to the International Space Station, and has completed nine successful missions to and from the ISS through April 2024.