Two American astronauts, stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for months, will remain there at least until March 2025. NASA announced that the return of the Starliner spacecraft, initially scheduled for February 2025, has been delayed by at least a month due to issues detected in the spacecraft. Here are the details:

They Went for 8 Days, Stranded for 9 Months!

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams reached the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, intending to stay for only eight days. However, issues with the Starliner’s propulsion system completely disrupted this plan. NASA declared the Starliner unsafe and decided to bring it back to Earth without a crew.

Faced with this situation, SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission was initiated to ensure the astronauts’ return. The Crew-9 team arrived at the ISS in September 2024 aboard the Dragon spacecraft, leaving two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams. The plan was for the pair to return to Earth in February 2025.

On Tuesday, NASA announced that the Crew-10 mission, intended to bring back the Crew-9 team and the two astronauts, would now launch no earlier than March 2025, pushing the timeline back by another month. This additional delay is to allow for further testing and preparation of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

As a result, Wilmore and Williams will have spent over nine months aboard the ISS. Their journey, which was initially planned as an eight-day mission, has now turned into a lengthy ordeal, reigniting stories of astronauts stranded in space.

NASA and SpaceX continue their efforts to ensure ISS crew rotations every six months. However, the technical problems with Starliner have dealt a significant blow to Boeing’s space program reputation. The delays have sparked mockery on social media, with users joking that the astronauts may end up spending the rest of their lives in space.

What do you think about these delays and the jokes targeting NASA? Share your thoughts in the comments!