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Nasa astronauts 'stuck in space' until next year

Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore. Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore won't return from the ISS until next year.

Nasa says two American astronauts who are stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) won't return to earth until next year.

Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore originally went on an eight day mission, but have been stuck for two months.

The Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were supposed to return on has a problem, so they have to wait for a different space capsule to bring them home next February.

The astronauts will continue doing research whilst they're up there.

What's the latest?

Image source, Getty Images

Sunita Williams and 'Butch' Wilmore travelled to the ISS in June and were due to return to earth after eight days.

But Nasa discovered a problem with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were going to use to return and have said it's too risky to travel on.

Now they'll have to wait until February 2025 and instead use a SpaceX capsule to come back home.

The astronauts have had food, fuel and other supplies delivered for their stay.

What is the problem with the Boeing Starliner?

Image source, Getty Images

The Boeing Starliner is a capsule designed to transport crew and equipment into space.

Nasa asked Boeing - which is a private company that makes planes - to develop the Starliner so they could have a US-made spacecraft to transport crew to and from the ISS.

However, before the spacecraft had set off for the ISS, Nasa discovered a number of issues, including several helium leaks in its capsule.

The launch went ahead on 5 June, as engineers thought the small leaks would not affect the mission.

But further leaks happened during the mission and there were problems with some of its thrusters.

Nasa has been carrying out checks and on Saturday announced the plan to return the astronauts using a SpaceX ship next year.