NASA has chosen Elon Musk’s SpaceX program to rescue astronauts stranded in space.

The move is a humiliating blow for aerospace giant Boeing, whose Starliner spacecraft carried commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams to the International Space Station (ISS).

The two experienced pilots have been stuck on the ISS since the end of June, when they arrived for a week-long test flight.

The pair will now have to wait until next year to be picked up by SpaceX, by which time they will have already spent eight months in space.

Their empty Starliner capsule is scheduled to undock early next month and attempt to return on autopilot and land in the New Mexico desert.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been selected by NASA to rescue two pilots stranded on the International Space Station next year

Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams have been stuck on the ISS since June due to technical problems with Boeing’s Starliner.

The stricken Starliner (docked to the ISS’s Harmony module) will attempt to return on autopilot next month and land in the New Mexico desert.

The flight to the space station was marred by engine failures and helium leaks, and the pilots of the damaged capsule had to remain in a holding pattern while engineers discussed how to organize their return.

Former military test pilots Wilmore (61) and Williams (58) were the first crew members to use the Starliner when it departed for the ISS on June 5.

They must now wait for SpaceX’s routine taxi flight, scheduled to launch in late September.

It will carry two astronauts instead of the usual two for a normal six-month stay on the ISS.

A SpaceX capsule is currently docked at the space station, but is reserved for four other residents who have been there since March and are scheduled to return in September after their stay was extended by a month due to the Starliner problems.

Another capsule, the Russian Soyuz, has space for three astronauts – two of them are Russians who are just finishing their one-year studies on the ISS.

The former military test pilots said they had “no complaints” and would have been happy to help with the work on the space station.

Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams enter the ISS after docking with the Boeing Starliner on June 6

The experienced pilots said they had confidence in the engine tests conducted.

During their only press conference in orbit last month, the two said there were no complaints and that they enjoyed helping with work on the space station.

The problematic capsule is another blow for Boeing, which has also had to contend with numerous technical problems in the aeronautical sector.

Following the crash of two 737 MAX aircraft – Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in early 2019 – the company’s manufacturing processes came under increased scrutiny.

The company subsequently experienced production delays after it was discovered last year that improperly drilled holes existed in the rear pressure bulkheads of certain aircraft.

Concerns grew further after an emergency door exploded on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in January. The door systems were originally manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems.

In April, Boeing was also accused by a whistleblower engineer of cutting corners in the manufacture of the 777 and 787 aircraft. The company denied allegations that it failed to close tiny gaps in the fuselage that could potentially cause a plane to break apart in mid-air.

NASA insists on its decision to postpone the return of the pilots until next year

Boeing also struggled with problems in the aviation sector, including delays in the production of the 737 MAX aircraft due to design defects.

NASA bosses stuck to the decision to postpone the astronauts’ return until next year.

“A test flight is by nature neither safe nor routine,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “And that’s why the decision … is a commitment to safety.”

“This was not an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one,” added Jim Free, NASA’s deputy administrator.

Nelson, however, insisted that NASA had not abandoned Boeing and said he was “100 percent” confident the Starliner would fly again.

MailOnline has contacted Boeing for comment.