Washington: NASA has announced that Boeing Starliner crew members Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since June, will not be able to return to Earth before February.
Considering whether to allow them to return to Earth on their damaged Starliner craft or wait until the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon mission returns in February, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated that the agency has chosen the latter option for safety reasons.
During a televised news conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, he explained that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will return to Earth next February with the Crew-9 mission.
He added that upon the crew’s return, the damaged Starliner capsule, which is currently docked at the ISS, will be brought back to Earth without a pilot.