NASA will make its final determination on how to bring astronauts home this weekend

NASA on Thursday said that it would make a final determination this weekend on whether to use Boeing's space capsule to bring home two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were only expected to be on the station for a week, have been stranded in space since June. If NASA decides not to use Boeing's capsule, they would be forced to remain on the station until February.

The space agency's administrator Bill Nelson will meet with other high-ranking NASA officials in Houston on Saturday to make their final decision, according to the Associated Press. 

The delay comes after 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. 

Boeing has expressed confidence in the thrusters, claiming that recent tests on the shuttle's thrusters in space have had favorable results. But if NASA decides the shuttle is not safe, then a SpaceX shuttle will be used instead and the Starliner will return to Earth empty in September. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.