NASA officials revealed on Saturday that the two crew members aboard the Boeing Starliner, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, are set for an extended eight-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS).

Wilmore and Williams will remain in space until February following a risk assessment indicating that returning to Earth on the Boeing spacecraft isn’t safe at this time.

This means the Starliner will return without a crew in order to clear a docking station for the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which is slated to arrive at the ISS on September 24 for a six-month long stay. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson confirmed during a press briefing that the spacecraft being used for the Crew-9 mission will also be the one that brings Williams and Wilmore back home.

“The choice to keep Butch and Suni on the ISS and send the Boeing Starliner back uncrewed is based on our commitment to safety,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in the news conference. “Safety is our primary value, and I appreciate the exhaustive work from NASA and Boeing teams to reach this conclusion.”

In the same conference, NASA’s administrators reiterated that safety is their utmost priority, while also viewing this situation as an occasion for learning.

“The NASA and Boeing teams have made substantial technical advancements in the development of the model, thruster tests, and understanding the material properties of the valves, as well as the complex fluid dynamics involved,” commented NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free. “We are adept at learning from our experiences, and it’s clear that we will absorb lessons from this situation to ensure our crews and their families can be confident in our efforts to achieve safety and success.”

This decision clarifies the situation for astronauts Williams and Wilmore, who first arrived at the ISS on June 6, initially expecting a stay of just over a week.

What happened with the Boeing Starliner?

Problems began for the Starliner even before its launch on June 5 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida during its first crewed test mission.

Wilmore and Williams were initially scheduled to stay at the ISS for just over a week, but upon arriving a day after their launch, issues such as helium leaks and difficulties in the propulsion system were identified, complicating their return to Earth.

In light of the issues with Starliner, NASA had previously opted to delay the launch of SpaceX Crew-9.

This Crew-9 mission had been set to launch earlier in August to take over from Crew-8, which has been at the ISS since March. However, the Crew-9 members can’t dock with the ISS until the port occupied by Starliner becomes free, setting their launch for no earlier than September 24, according to NASA.

The delay allowed NASA and Boeing’s engineers to gather and assess data regarding the Starliner in preparation for the upcoming flight readiness review.

However, it also means that the Starliner must undock before The Dragon capsule is set to autonomously return to Earth without its crew on board. As a result, since Wilmore and Williams will need a way to get back down, the Crew-9 mission will consist of only two astronauts instead of the usual four, according to NASA.

The crew of Starliner is scheduled to return on February 25 alongside Crew-9 aboard the Dragon, after the SpaceX astronauts finish their six-month stint at the International Space Station.