NASA officials said on Wednesday that there are differences within the agency about whether Boeing's (BA.US) Starliner spacecraft, which can safely bring two seasoned astronauts back to Earth, is safe enough. They said the two astronauts sent to the International Space Station by Starliner in June this year may return to Earth in February 2025 on SpaceX's Crew Dragon if Starliner is still considered unsafe for Earth return.

NASA has been discussing possible plans with SpaceX to leave two spots for US astronauts Buche Wilmore and Suni Williams in the upcoming Crew Dragon launch. They were the first astronauts to be sent into space aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. The astronauts' test mission was originally expected to last about eight days on the space station, but as the Starliner's propulsion system encountered problems, they were increasingly concerned about the spacecraft's ability to safely return them to Earth as planned.

The astronaut's test mission was originally expected to last about eight days on the space station, but as the Starliner's propulsion system encountered problems, they were increasingly concerned about the spacecraft's ability to safely return them to Earth as planned.

A Boeing spokesman said the company "will take the necessary action to configure Starliner for unmanned returns" if NASA decides to change the mission of Starliner.

When Starliner approached the International Space Station for the first time in June this year, the thrusters failed and the helium used to pressurize the thrusters leaked several times. Boeing launched a testing activity to investigate the cause of the problem and made repair suggestions to NASA, which has the final decision-making authority. Recent research has uncovered new information, leading to greater concerns over safe return. The latest test data has caused differences and debates within NASA, whether they should accept the risk of Starliner returning to Earth or switch to using Crew Dragon instead.

NASA using SpaceX's spacecraft would be a major blow to Boeing, which has been competing with SpaceX and its more experienced Crew Dragon for years.

Starliner's high-risk mission is the final test before NASA certifies the spacecraft for routine manned flights to and from the International Space Station. Crew Dragon was approved for U.S. astronaut flights by NASA in 2020. Starliner's development has been hindered by management and numerous engineering problems. Securities documents show that the project has cost Boeing $1.6 billion since 2016, including $0.125 billion for the current test mission of Starliner.

NASA officials said at a press conference this week that some officials disagreed with plans to use Starliner to bring astronauts back to Earth after a meeting of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which oversees Starliner.

NASA has been fighting for more time for Boeing to do more testing and collect more data to establish a better case for trusting Starliner. Although a decision has not yet been made whether to use Starliner or Crew Dragon, NASA is expected to make a decision sometime next week.

NASA officials said at a press conference this week that some officials disagreed with plans to use Starliner to bring astronauts back to Earth after a meeting of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which oversees Starliner. Although a decision has not yet been made whether to use Starliner or Crew Dragon, NASA is expected to make a decision sometime next week.

NASA's International Space Station program manager said that if needed, they had not yet decided which astronauts would perform the task of Wilmore and Williams for the Crew-9 mission, which will send three American and one Russian astronaut to the International Space Station.

NASA has been studying various contingency plans, but officials seem to have narrowed down two different options for returning the astronauts to Earth. If NASA engineers are more confident in the performance of the thrusters, they may still be able to return on the Starliner spacecraft, possibly in late August or early September. Another option is that NASA could launch the Crew-9 mission, carrying two instead of four astronauts, with Wilmore and Williams joining the "augmentation crew" of the space station, and returning to Earth in February 2025.