Boeing Crew Flight Test Status Update

The fate of two NASA astronauts — who have been in limbo aboard the International Space Station for about 80 days because of issues plaguing their Boeing Starliner spacecraft — may soon become clear.

The space agency said it will hold a formal review on Saturday to determine whether it will deem Boeing’s Starliner vehicle safe enough to return home with its crew — or if SpaceX’s workhorse Crew Dragon spacecraft will have to step in to save the day.

NASA said it will share its decision after the review concludes on Saturday. A news conference was scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, or “about an hour” after the review is over, according to an email from NASA. The space agency routinely delays news conferences, however, if discussions take longer than expected.

The Starliner vehicle, which carried astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the space station in early June, suffered setbacks with helium leaks and thrusters that abruptly stopped working on the initial leg of its first crewed test flight. Engineers spent weeks attempting to better understand the issues, and Boeing said as recently as August 2 that its “confidence remains high” that the spacecraft would be able to return Williams and Wilmore to Earth.