By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com
NASA astronauts stranded due to Boeing’s faulty Starliner received horrifying news on Wednesday about their return mission to Earth.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have already been trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than two months, may not come back to Earth until February 2025.
The US space agency revealed a contingency plan that would launch a two-person crew on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in September, but still wouldn’t bring the crew home until months later.
The announcement is another highly embarrassing blow for the embattled Boeing, which is dealing with a spate of issues plaguing its commercial jets.
NASA as touted the notion for weeks that the capsule was safe enough to Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back from the International Space Station (ISS), despite the craft experiencing leaks and thruster issues
Tuesday marked 60 days the Starliner crew has been in space – instead the intended eight day mission.
Thruster failures and helium leaks on Starliner prompted NASA and Boeing to keep the two astronauts in orbit for longer over fears a trip back on the spacecraft could end in disaster.
During this time, the teams were conducting tests on the issues to determine if capsule could fly.
Last week Boeing said that it ‘remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew.’
However, experts told DailyMail.com in June that NASA could be forced to launch a rescue mission, suggesting Elon Musk’s SpaceX would be tapped to get it done.