Photo: MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO / AFP / Getty Images
The two astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft could be stuck in space until next year.
NASA announced yesterday a further delay in Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams' return home from the ISS.
The astronauts were originally scheduled to return after eight days when they first went up in the Starliner in June.
Issues with helium leaks and thruster failures have forced the astronauts to remain aboard the ISS for more than 60 days.
NASA engineers say that they are "taking more time to pick up data on the flight worthiness of Starliner and to iron out its faults."
However, progress toward an eventual flight home has stalled. NASA expected to begin a flight-readiness review for the spacecraft at the beginning of August, but the process has yet to start.
NASA said if tests show a return flight on Starliner to be too risky, then the astronauts could be forced to wait and come back on Boeing rival SpaceX's CrewDragon in February 2025.