NASA denies rumors related to Boeing starliner, says ‘Not in rush to come home’

“The station is a nice, safe place to stop and take our time to work through the vehicle and make sure we’re ready to come home,’ he added.

New York: Denying that NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), the US space agency and Boeing officials have said they are currently “not in any rush to come home.”

Amid multiple reports claiming that the two astronauts, sent to the orbiting laboratory onboard Boeing Starliner spacecraft earlier this month, are stranded after suspected helium leaks, NASA and Boeing officials said they are using “the luxury of time” to learn more before the astronauts return to Earth.

“I want to make it real clear that we’re not in any rush to come home,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew programme manager, was quoted as saying during a press conference late on Friday (US time).

“The station is a nice, safe place to stop and take our time to work through the vehicle and make sure we’re ready to come home,’ he added.

NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate Starliner’s propulsion system performance before returning to Earth from the orbiting lab. The US space agency said they are now targeting the end of July for the next spacewalk outside the space station.