NASA astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore.   AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Dear Commons Community,

NASA’s two stuck astronauts just got their space mission extended again. That means they won’t be back on Earth until spring, 10 months after rocketing into orbit on Boeing’s Starliner capsule.

NASA announced the latest delay in Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ homecoming  yesterday.

The two test pilots planned on being away just a week or so when they blasted off June 5 on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station. Their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s problem-plagued Starliner capsule back empty in September.

Now the pair won’t return until the end of March or even April because of a delay in launching their replacements, according to NASA.

A fresh crew needs to launch before Wilmore and Williams can return and the next mission has been bumped more than a month, according to the space agency.

Most space station missions last six months, with a few reaching a full year.

We wish NASA and the two astronauts luck with this!

Tony

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