Two NASA astronauts may be stuck on space station until 2025

WASHINGTON (WAM)

NASA said on Wednesday that two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) in June by Boeing's Starliner may be stuck until February 2025 after issues cropped up with the spacecraft they rode to the station.

NASA officials said the astronauts could return on SpaceX's Crew Dragon in February if Starliner is still deemed unsafe to return to Earth.

The US space agency has also been discussing potential plans with SpaceX to leave two seats empty on an upcoming Crew Dragon launch for NASA astronauts, who became the first crew to fly Boeing's Starliner capsule.

The astronauts' test mission, initially expected to last about eight days on the station, has been drawn out by issues with Starliner's propulsion system, which have increasingly called into question the spacecraft's ability to safely return them to Earth as planned.