NASA officials said that two astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing's Starliner early this summer will return home by next February during a Saturday press conference.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have spent the entire summer in space, were initially scheduled to return to Earth on June 14. However, their mission faced a critical setback when the capsule developed leaks and some of its thrusters malfunctioned. As ground teams work to identify the cause of these issues, their homecoming has been repeatedly delayed.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the two astronauts "will return with crew-9 next February," a mission operated by SpaceX. He said that the "Starliner will return uncrewed."

This is a developing story and will be updated with additional information.

NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore (R) and Sunita Williams (L), about to board the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for the Crew Flight Test launch on June 5, 2024. NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore (R) and Sunita Williams (L), about to board the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft for the Crew Flight Test launch on June 5, 2024. MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/Getty

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.