NASA plans to send 2 astronauts instead of 4 to ISS so pair stranded by troubled Boeing Starliner can return

NASA on Friday said it would be sending two astronauts on the next SpaceX mission to the International Space Station instead of the planned four so that two who remain stranded there can return in February. 

The agency made the decision to send the troubled Boeing Starliner that Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore previously flew to the space station in June back to Earth unmanned because the capsule has struggled with thruster troubles and helium leaks.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, a Roscosmos cosmonaut, are expected to launch for the space station at the end of September. 

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were cut from the mission to make room for Williams and Wilmore on the return flight. The agency said Cardman and Wilson would be eligible for reassignment on future missions.

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"The decision to fly Hague was made by NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston," NASA said in a press release Friday. "Acaba had to balance flying a NASA crew member with previous spaceflight experience to command the flight, while ensuring NASA maintains an integrated crew with a Roscosmos cosmonaut who can operate their critical systems for continued, safe station operations."

Acaba said astronaut crews have been changed before, but it was a "tough decision to adjust to given that the crew has trained as a crew of four.

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"I have the utmost confidence in all our crew, who have been excellent throughout training for the mission. Zena and Stephanie will continue to assist their crewmates ahead of launch, and they exemplify what it means to be a professional astronaut."

The U.S. had previously relied on Russia to ferry astronauts to the ISS after the shuttle program was retired in 2011, a decision that came after the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentry in 2003, killing all seven astronauts. 

SpaceX began taking astronauts to the space station with its rockets in 2020. 

"I am deeply proud of our entire crew," Cardman said in a statement, "and I am confident Nick and Alex will step into their roles with excellence. All four of us remain dedicated to the success of this mission, and Stephanie and I look forward to flying when the time is right." 

Wilson added, "I know Nick and Alex will do a great job with their work aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72."

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Hague, an active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, has previously launched three times, including twice to the ISS. During his first launch in 2018, he and another cosmonaut were able to make a safe reentry after a rocket booster failure. This will be Gorbunov’s first trip to space.