NASA has announced that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since June, will remain in space at least until late March 2025. Originally, they were meant to spend just eight days aboard the ISS, but due to issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft's propulsion system, their mission was altered. After Starliner faced difficulties, NASA decided to send the astronauts back with the Crew-9 mission, which arrived in September 2024. The plan was for all four astronauts to return to Earth in February 2025.

However, NASA confirmed that Crew-10, which would replace Crew-9 and allow the stranded astronauts to return home, is now delayed until March 2025. This extension will give NASA and SpaceX time to process a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission. As a result, Wilmore and Williams will have spent more than nine months in space, far beyond their original eight-day plan. This delay highlights the complexities of space missions and the critical role of private companies like SpaceX in crew rotations to and from the ISS.