Astronauts on the Boeing Starliner aircraft won't be home until 2025, NASA says

Boeing Starliner astronauts who have been stranded in space for 80 days won't be able to come back until 2025, NASA officials said Saturday. 

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams won't return to Earth until February. The Starliner will come back unmanned next month, according to the New York Post. 

The astronauts who were only expected to be attached to the International Space Station for eight days, have been stranded in space since June. 

Boeing's Starliner capsule encountered thruster failures and helium leaks that required the spaceship to be docked at the ISS while engineers evaluated a new computer model for the thrusters. 

According to NASA administrator Bill Nelson, the decision to wait until February to bring the astronauts home was based on a “commitment to safety.” Wilmore and Williams will return, according to NASA officials, as part of a SpaceX Dragon Crew-9 mission.