The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reports SpaceX’s Crew Dragon may be the potential return option for the stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Willmore.

Initially planned for 10 days, the mission was extended because of a series of technical glitches and a helium leak. The spacecraft also encountered thruster issues.

With no way home, NASA debates on the Starliner’s safety to return the astronauts. NASA’s manager for the commercial crew programme, Steve Stich, says that they are considering using a Space X Crew Dragon craft to return the pair from the International Space Station (ISS).

However, this plan means that the astronauts will have to stay on the ISS until February 2025. Consequently, the Starliner would be cut from the ISS and sent to Earth. Despite the lack of a definite plan to extract the astronauts, NASA and Boeing maintains the fact that the pair aren’t ‘stuck’.

Stich told reporters on June 28 that, “Our plan is to return them on Starliner and return them home at the right time.”

However, on Tuesday August 6, NASA delayed launching other astronauts to the ISS by a month to provide further analysis on issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which remains docked at the ISS.

The original schedule set for August 18 is now planned for “no earlier than” September 24.

Sunita Williams and Barry Willmore piloted the first crewed test flight of a Boeing Starliner spacecraft, and have been at the ISS since June 5.