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NASA says astronauts stuck in space to
return Feb 2025 with Elon Musk’s SpaceX NASA has announced that two American astronauts
stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) will be brought back to Earth in 2025.
Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, who traveled to the ISS in June for an eight-day
mission, have been unable to return after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft encountered technical
issues. In a significant update on Saturday, NASA revealed that plans are in motion to return
the astronauts in February next year using a Dragon spacecraft owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The Dragon spacecraft, which can accommodate four people, will travel to the ISS with two
crew members, leaving space for Wilmore and Williams to join them for the return trip to
Earth at the end of its mission in February. NASA stated that they, along with SpaceX,
are working on several pre-launch tasks, including reconfiguring seats on the Crew-9
Dragon, adjusting the manifest to carry extra cargo, personal items, and Dragon-specific
spacesuits for the stranded astronauts. Additionally, NASA and SpaceX will utilize
new facilities at Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for
the Crew-9 launch, providing greater operational flexibility in line with NASA’s planned Europa
Clipper mission. Although NASA has the option to return the Starliner to Earth either with
or without a crew, they have determined that an uncrewed return is the best course of
action. The Starliner is expected to depart from the ISS and perform a safe, autonomous
re-entry and landing in early September.