JUST IN: Stranded Astronauts Will Return To Earth On SpaceX Craft, NASA Announces

NASA will be turning to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring home two astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station since early June after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered several malfunctions mid-flight, the agency announced Saturday.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be hitching a ride back to earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule rather than the Boeing craft. The decision comes after months of much public speculation and concern over the astronauts’ status, as well as inter-agency conflicts concerning the return mission. The initial mission was expected to last just eight days.

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“Spaceflight is risky — even at its safest and even at its most routine — and a test flight, by nature, is neither safe nor routine, and so the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Saturday at a news briefing.

The Starliner saga has provided a major setback for Boeing’s space ambitions, as the company spent years developing the craft before the unsuccessful mission even took place. Even before the June launch, the Starliner was already $1.5 billion over budget and years behind schedule.

On Saturday, top NASA officials gathered in Houston to discuss conduct a formal review based on the results of tests done in orbit and on the ground.

While NASA has settled on a plan for the astronauts’ return, their return trip may not take place for several months. Wilmore and Williams are expected to remain on the ISS for six more months before returning home in February.

NASA said it will be freeing up two seats on an upcoming four-man SpaceX launch, known as Crew-9, that will be taking a new rotation of astronauts to the ISS.

The Starliner craft, meanwhile, will return to earth without its crew sometime in September.

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