NASA has decided to extend the stay of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in space until February 2025, citing safety concerns with Boeing's new capsule. The decision was announced on Saturday (August 24) by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Associate Administrator Jim Free. The astronauts, who have been at the International Space Station since June, were originally scheduled for a weeklong test flight. However, a series of thruster failures and helium leaks in the new capsule led to a delay in their return.

Wilmore and Williams, both retired Navy captains with previous long-duration spaceflight experience, were prepared for surprises when they accepted the shakedown cruise of a new spacecraft.

"Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. 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," Nelson said in a press release. "I'm grateful to both the NASA and Boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work."

The astronauts' Starliner capsule will undock in early September and attempt to return on autopilot. As the test pilots for Starliner, Wilmore, and Williams were expected to oversee this critical last leg of the journey. However, due to the issues with the capsule, they will now return to Earth in a SpaceX spacecraft in February.

The decision is a setback for Boeing, which had hoped that Starliner's first crew trip would help revive its troubled program after years of delays and ballooning costs. Despite the decision, NASA is not giving up on Boeing. The agency still hopes that Starliner's problems can be corrected in time for another crew flight in a year or so.

Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning