Far From Home

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore left Earth on June 5. The two astronauts were expecting a short flight on NASA’s new Starliner spacecraft. They’d fly to the International Space Station, or ISS (see “Space Station”). Successfully docking there would certify × certify guarantee that something meets certain standards (verb) the Starliner for future missions.

TESTING . . . Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams head to a flight test on June 1, ahead of launch.

Before reaching the ISS, the Starliner experienced problems. Five of its thrusters began misfiring, and a gas supply sprang leaks. The craft made it safely to the ISS. But the astronauts’ eight-day mission has now lasted more than two months.

LIFTOFF A rocket launches the Starliner into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 5.

NASA started troubleshooting × troubleshoot to investigate the source of a problem and fix it (verb) the situation with Boeing, the company that built the Starliner. They were trying to determine whether the craft was safe to carry Williams and Wilmore home. On August 24, NASA announced that the astronauts will stay at the ISS until they can be retrieved in February 2025. That will stretch their mission from eight days to eight months.

HANG TIGHT This image of the Starliner craft attached to the ISS was taken from a nearby docked ship on July 3.

Close Quarters

The ISS, typically home to six or seven people, is now crowded with nine. So how are the astronauts doing? “We are having a great time,” Williams said from orbit during a July press conference. “Butch and I have been up here before, and it feels like coming home.”

ALL SMILES Wilmore and Williams pause for a picture in the area between the Starliner and the ISS on June 13.

The press hasn’t heard more from the astronauts. But the trip has to be getting old by now. The station doesn’t have enough sleep chambers for nine astronauts. So three of them are making do. Wilmore is camping out in a sleeping bag.

And the astronauts’ work schedule has changed. They’ve long since finished up checking the Starliner’s systems. So they’ve been assisting the rest of the crew with science experiments and chores.

HELPING OUT Wilmore works on a plant research device in the botany section of the ISS.

At first, Williams and Wilmore had few changes of clothes. They didn’t pack for a months-long stay. (Astronauts don’t do laundry in space; they dispose of old clothes and change into new ones.) But in early August, a resupply vehicle arrived, bringing fresh food and fresh clothes for the Starliner crew.

Backup Plan

In early June, Williams and Wilmore said they were excited for the short mission. Starliner was designed to be flown more than once. “We want to go and get back as quickly as possible, so they [can] turn our spacecraft around and also take all those lessons learned and incorporate [them] into the next Starliner,” Williams told TIME.

Now, with so many questions about the ship’s safety, there may not be a next Starliner. Rather than allow the ship to carry the astronauts back to Earth, NASA has decided on a backup plan. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to travel to the ISS for a five-month mission beginning in September. It will be launched with two astronauts aboard, instead of four. Williams and Wilmore will then return to Earth on that Crew Dragon in February 2025.

LONG-DISTANCE CALL Williams uses a radio aboard the ISS to speak with students in Indonesia.

NASA associate administrator Jim Free spoke at the August 24 press conference. “This has not been an easy decision,” he said, “but it is absolutely the right one.”

Space Station

The International Space Station, or ISS, is a platform the size of a football field that orbits Earth from nearly 250 miles away. It has been in orbit for 25 years, and more than 270 astronauts from different countries have worked there.

While aboard the ISS, crew members conduct and check the progress of science and technology experiments. These experiments might one day help us travel farther into space, for longer periods of time.