Barry Wilmore and Sunita William are two NASA astronauts who launched to the International Space Station (ISS) using the Starliner spacecraft on June 6. According to the original plan, this mission was supposed to be only 8 days long. But various issues with Starliner, NASA confirmed that these two astronauts will not return to Earth before February 2025 causing them to be "stranded" at the ISS.
NASA said that the return date of Wilmore and William has now been changed to late March 2025. This is because the delay of the SpaceX Crew-10 capsule caused the launch of this mission to be delayed by a month to ensure its safety. Wilmore and Sunita will only return to Earth after the four Crew-10 crew arrive at the ISS.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft is one of the other vehicles used by NASA to send crew to the International Space Station (ISS) after the Space Shuttle stopped operating almost a decade ago. In addition to Starliner, the United States also uses the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to carry astronauts and supplies to the ISS.
The program has faced various problems, causing Boeing to lose around $1.5 billion. As a result, Boeing is reportedly looking to sell its aerospace business as a way to reduce the company's operating costs.