NASA is scheduled to decide the fate of the two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station by the end of August.

NASA announced Wednesday, August 14, that it will decide by the end of the month the fate of the two astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station. The new Starliner spacecraft, built by Boeing, launched in early June with its first two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, and has since docked with the ISS. They were originally scheduled to return to Earth in eight days, but problems discovered with its propulsion system have led NASA to question its reliability.

These concerns have also prompted NASA to consider a radical fallback: bringing the crew back several months later on another vehicle, SpaceX’s regular mission. The decision-making committee must meet “next weekend” or “At the beginning of the next”The decision should be made in the last week of August, said NASA associate administrator Ken Bowersox. “if not before”He added: If it is determined that the Starliner is not safe enough, the ship will return empty.

The SpaceX mission, called Crew-9, is scheduled to launch in late September with just two astronauts instead of four. As planned, it will remain docked to the ISS until it returns to Earth in February, along with the two Boeing outcasts. That means Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams will spend eight months on the ISS, instead of eight days. “I spoke to them yesterday and they are doing very well.”NASA's chief astronaut, Joe Acaba, reassured.