NASA decided on Saturday that the two astronauts who have been stuck in the International Space Station since June will not return to Earth in Boeing’s new space capsule. Instead, they will be brought home in a SpaceX capsule in 2025.

Administrator Bill Nelson and other senior officials met in Houston to determine whether Boeing’s capsule was safe enough to bring the astronauts home.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5. The test flight quickly developed engine failures and helium leaks that were so severe that NASA parked the capsule at the station while engineers discussed what to do next.

SpaceX will not be able to pick them up until February next year. They should return to the station after about a week.

Boeing’s Starliner will return to Earth empty in September.

Boeing said earlier this month that extensive engine tests in space and on the ground had shown that Starliner was capable of returning astronauts safely.

It was the company’s first astronaut flight and was delayed for years by numerous problems with the space capsule. Two previous test flights of the Starliner had no one on board.

NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX to transport its astronauts to and from the station a decade ago after the space shuttles were retired. SpaceX has been on board since 2020.