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NASA officials said on the 14th that they will decide before the end of this month how to send two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station back to Earth. They may continue to board Boeing's "Starliner" spacecraft, which is currently still faulty, or switch to the "Dragon" spacecraft of competitor Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.

Ken Bowersox, an official of NASA, said at a press conference on the 14th that experts are still analyzing the data of the "Starliner" thruster, and the NASA will decide how to return the stranded astronauts by the end of August. The NASA has had a "very frank discussion" with Boeing, and Boeing is "100% confident" in the "Starliner" spacecraft.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft launched on June 5, carrying astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunny Williams for the first manned test flight. The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on June 6 and was originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 14 with two astronauts, but the return time was repeatedly delayed due to problems such as thruster failure and helium leaks.

NASA announced on the 7th of this month that if Boeing is unable to eliminate the failure of the "Starliner" spacecraft, it will consider using the "Dragon" spacecraft to transport the stranded astronauts back to Earth, and the landing time may be in February next year.

According to the Associated Press, if it is decided to use the Dragon spacecraft to transport the stranded astronauts back, two problems need to be solved: first, the International Space Station has only two docking ports suitable for American spacecraft, and they are occupied by the Starliner and the Cygnus cargo spacecraft that transports supplies to the space station. Therefore, the Starliner needs to leave the space station before the Dragon spacecraft arrives; secondly, the space agency needs to reduce the number of astronauts in the next manned launch mission of the Dragon spacecraft from four to two in order to make room for the stranded astronauts to return.

Many media believe that once it is confirmed that the "Dragon" spacecraft will be used to carry the two stranded astronauts back to Earth, it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to Boeing. The "Dragon" spacecraft was approved by NASA in 2020 and has transported astronauts to and from the International Space Station and the ground many times. Boeing has invested heavily in the development of the "Starliner" for many years, trying to compete with Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, but the progress has not been smooth. In December 2019, the first unmanned test flight of the "Starliner" failed to enter the planned orbit and was forced to cancel the mission to the International Space Station. In May 2022, the second unmanned test flight of the "Starliner" successfully docked with the International Space Station. After several delays, the "Starliner" made its first manned test flight in June this year, but a malfunction occurred. Securities documents show that the delay in returning has caused Boeing a loss of US$125 million. Since 2016, Boeing's cumulative losses on this project have reached US$1.6 billion. According to Xinhua News Agency