John Jefferson
NASA leaders are delivering a briefing on a pair of astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station since June after a malfunction on their Boeing spacecraft.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived on a Starliner vehicle on June 5 and were only supposed to stay until the middle of the month.
Authorities have been discussing how to safely return them home after discovering helium leaks and propulsion problems.
HOW BOEING STARLINER ASTRONAUTS STUCK IN SPACE COULD GET HOME AND WHEN
One previously discussed option was sending them home on the NASA SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which would take off in September with two empty seats, leaving room for Wilmore and Williams on the February 2025 return, authorities said last week.
If the agency approves a contingency plan, officials say they will likely have Starliner undock from the space station and return to earth autonomously.
NASA-BOEING STARLINER LAUNCH WAS ‘SPECTACULAR,’ MISSION WENT AS PLANNED UNTIL DAY 2, ASTRONAUTS SAY
Boeing said it was confident that the Starliner is safe enough to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth safely.
NASA says it needs more time to analyze the spacecraft’s maneuvering thrusters, which developed problems during its first astronaut-crewed flight to the ISS.
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This is a developing story.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin, Charles Bell and Jonathan Serrie contributed to this report.
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