CALIFORNIA: The return of two US astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will be delayed further, NASA announced on Thursday. Sunita Williams and her fellow traveller Butch Wilmore, who arrived at the ISS as part of a Boeing Starliner test flight, will now stay there until the end of March, NASA announced.

Both astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on June 7, 2024, and were initially scheduled to return on June 13 after an eight-day stay. However, due to technical issues with their spacecraft, they were unable to return to Earth on the same spacecraft. Initially, NASA planned to bring them back on the Space X Crew 9 spacecraft in February 2025. However, the mission has now been rescheduled for March, causing further delays in their return to Earth.