Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were expecting to be in space for around a week, but the US space agency wants to do more checks before it decides how to bring them home.
NASA has said it has still not decided how to bring home two astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) after their spacecraft developed faults on their outward voyage.
In a news conference on Wednesday, the space agency said Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived at the ISS in June expecting to be there for eight days, may yet have to stay until February.
The astronauts arrived there on a Boeing Starliner — the first crew to use the craft.
But the vessel suffered thruster failures and helium leaks en route, raising doubts about whether it could carry them back to Earth safely — leaving the pair in space limbo.
The thrusters are crucial for holding the capsule in the right position when it comes time to descend from orbit.
If NASA decides not to use the Starliner, which Boeing has said is able to return them safely, they would catch a ride on SpaceX’s next flight, which would mean staying at the space station until next Februar.
