Troubled Boeing Starliner will return to earth without stranded astronauts: NASA

NASA officials announced on Saturday that the troubled Boeing Starliner spacecraft that shuttled two astronauts to space in June will return to earth without them.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck in space after engineers discovered helium leaks and issues involving thrusters shortly after it docked with the International Space Station, which prompted NASA and Boeing to investigate.

The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star," NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters. 

"I’m grateful to both the NASA and Boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work."

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were the flight crew on Boeing's Starliner capsule, which is recovering from a series of issues. (NASA)

The pair originally blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5, on a test flight mission that was initially expected to last a week.

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They will now return with a SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which will likely not launch before September as that mission needs to reduce its crew of four to two to make room for the stranded astronauts, who are expected to return in February 2025.

Starliner is expected to depart from the space station and make a safe, controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September. It is designed to operate autonomously and previously completed two uncrewed flights.  

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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