The Blubber

Boeing, $BA, employees are “humiliated” after NASA announced that two astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station by the company’s troubled Starliner space capsule will have to be rescued by SpaceX, per NYP.

NASA officials announced on Saturday that the two Boeing Starliner astronauts, who have been stranded in space for 80 days, will remain there for another six months.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are now scheduled to return to Earth in February, with the Starliner capsule returning unmanned.

Wilmore and Williams, both veteran astronauts, launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5 for its first crewed flight, intended to be an eight-day mission docked at the International Space Station (ISS). However, the spacecraft encountered significant issues, including thruster failures and helium leaks, leading NASA to keep the capsule docked while engineers worked to find a solution.

The announcement came on the astronauts’ 80th day in space. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated that the decision to delay their return was made to ensure safety. Nelson also reaffirmed that NASA is "100 percent" confident the Starliner will carry astronauts again in the future.

Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon Crew-9 mission. NASA Associate Administrator James Free explained that teams are still working to resolve the Starliner’s thruster problems and praised the dedication of NASA staff involved in the decision.

ISS Manager Dana Weigel added that Wilmore and Williams are now expected to remain on the ISS for a total of eight months.