NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore’s return from the International Space Station (ISS) has encountered another delay.
Initially slated to return with the help of SpaceX, their mission has faced repeated setbacks. Their stay in space, originally planned to be a short-term assignment, is now expected to extend into Spring 2025, marking nearly 10 months in orbit.
Williams and Wilmore launched on June 5 aboard Boeing’s Starliner, with a mission duration set for just one week. However, technical issues with their spacecraft, which has since landed back on Earth without the astronauts, have led to multiple delays in their return.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, with Williams and Wilmore onboard, was the first crewed flight as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission aimed to thoroughly evaluate the spacecraft’s performance throughout all stages, including launch, docking, and safe return to Earth in the western US. After a successful manned test flight, NASA had planned to certify the Starliner and its systems for future crewed missions to the space station.