Two astronauts stuck in space after test flight will return to Earth in 2025, NASA announces

Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams inspect safety hardware aboard the International Space Station on August 9 2024. Credit: AP / NASA

Two American astronauts will not return to Earth until 2025, after technical issues with their spacecraft hindered what was supposed to be a week-long test flight.

NASA announced on Saturday that attempting to bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home from the International Space Station (ISS) in the Boeing Starliner capsule would be too risky.

The two seasoned pilots have been stuck on the ISS since the beginning of June, as engineers debated what to do after thruster failures and helium leaks marred the mission.

NASA's highest ranks have now decided Wilmore and Williams will come back to Earth in a SpaceX spacecraft in February 2025, which is also currently docked on the ISS.

Their empty Starliner capsule will undock in early September and attempt to return on autopilot.

“A test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine,” said NASA Administration Bill Nelson. “And so the decision is a commitment to safety.”

“This has not been an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one,” added NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked at the International Space Station. Credit: AP

Boeing had insisted Starliner was safe based on all the recent thruster tests both in space and on the ground.

In a statement, the company said: “Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft.

"We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return.”

NASA’s Norm Knight said he talked to the astronauts Saturday and they fully support the decision to postpone their return.

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In an interview from the ISS last month, Ms Williams told The New York Times: “We are having a great time here.

“I’m not complaining. Butch isn’t complaining that we’re up here for a couple of extra weeks.”

Only two docking ports at the space station can accommodate US astronaut capsules and both are now occupied.

Both Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts by NASA to run flights ferrying astronauts into space and back.

Boeing won the bigger contract: more than $4 billion (£3bn), compared with SpaceX’s $2.6 billion (£1.9bn).

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