Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore to return from Space next year: NASA

NASA has decided that the two astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station will return to Earth next February on a SpaceX Dragon mission.

Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have been in space since June (Source: NASA/X)

Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who traveled to the International Space Station in June aboard Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsule will return to Earth on a SpaceX-crewed Dragon mission, early next year, NASA announced on Saturday.

The decision was made after the agency determined that issues with Starliner’s propulsion system posed too great a risk for carrying its first crew back home.

NASA’s announcement followed an “agency-level review” on Saturday, which included input from agency administrator Bill Nelson.

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“Nasa has decided that Butch and Suni will return with [SpaceX’s] Crew-9 next February, and that Starliner will return uncrewed,” Nelson said during a press conference.

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“I want you to know that Boeing has worked very hard with Nasa to get the necessary data to make this decision. We want to further understand the root causes and understand the design improvements so that the Boeing Starliner will serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS,” he added.

Nelson emphasised the inherent risks of space travel, saying, “Space flight is risky, even at its safest and even at its most routine, and a test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine, and so the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety.”

Williams and Wilmore, both seasoned astronauts, arrived at the ISS on June 6 as part of a crucial test flight for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Initially planned as a brief mission, their stay was extended due to technical issues, including the failure of reaction control thrusters during the docking attempt.