A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who flew to the International Space Station in June aboard Boeing’s defective Starliner capsule, to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year, NASA chief Bill Nelson said Saturday.

NASA’s announcement that it will not use a damaged Boeing capsule to return two stranded astronauts to Earth is another setback for the struggling company, even if the financial damage is likely to be less than the reputational damage.

Boeing was once considered a symbol of American engineering and technology prowess, but its reputation has been ruined since two 737 Max planes crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The safety of its products came under renewed scrutiny after a panel blew out of a Max during a flight in January.

And now NASA has decided it would be safer to keep the astronauts in space until February than to risk using the Boeing Starliner capsule that carried them to the International Space Station, which suffered from problems with its propulsion system.

“NASA has decided that Butch and Suni will return with Crew-9 next February,” NASA posted on X.

“NASA has decided that Butch and Suni will return with Crew-9 next February.”@SenBillNelson and agency experts discuss today’s decision on NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Watch live with us: https://t.co/M2ODFmLuTj pic.twitter.com/J2qvwOW4mU

— NASA (@NASA) 24 August 2024

Speaking to media in Houston, Nelson said he discussed the agency’s decision with Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg.

Boeing is also struggling with quality problems in the production of commercial aircraft, its most important products. Boeing had hoped its Starliner test mission would rescue the struggling program after years of development problems and budget overruns of more than $1.6 billion since 2016.

Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both former military test pilots, were the first crew members to launch on June 5 on the Starliner for an eight-day test mission to the space station. But Starliner’s propulsion system suffered a series of glitches that triggered months of delays. Five of the 28 engines failed and there were several leaks of helium, which is used to pressurize the thrusters.

In a rare shakeup of NASA’s astronaut operations, the two astronauts are now expected to return in February 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft scheduled to launch next month as part of a routine astronaut rotation mission. Two of the Crew Dragon’s four astronaut seats will remain open for Wilmore and Williams.

Starliner will undock from the ISS without a crew and attempt to return to Earth as it would have done with astronauts on board.

Boeing struggled for years to develop Starliner, a gummy bear-shaped capsule designed to compete alongside Crew Dragon as the U.S.’s second option for transporting astronaut crews to and from Earth orbit.

Starliner failed in an uncrewed launch to the ISS in 2019, but was largely successful in a repeat attempt in 2022, which also encountered engine problems. The June mission with the first crew was required before NASA can certify the capsule for routine flights, but now Starliner’s path to crew certification has been upended.

Since Starliner docked with the ISS in June, Boeing has been racing to investigate what caused the engine malfunctions and helium leaks. The company has been running tests and simulations on Earth to collect data it will use to try to convince NASA officials that Starliner is safe to fly the crew home.

But the results of those tests raised more difficult technical questions and ultimately failed to allay NASA officials’ concerns about the Starliner’s ability to complete its manned return flight – the most difficult and complex part of the test mission.

NASA’s decision and the Starliner’s now uncertain path to certification will deepen the crisis facing Ortberg, who began this month with the goal of restoring the aircraft maker’s reputation after a door panel on a 737 MAX passenger plane dramatically ripped off in midair in January.

With inputs from agencies.