Two astronauts, including one from Massachusetts, are waiting to come home from the International Space Station.
Needham native Sunita Williams went into space aboard Boeing's Starliner with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore. They were supposed to be back on Earth in June, but their eight-day journey has turned into two months after issues with their spacecraft prevented a return.
Then on Wednesday, NASA said it could be another six months before the pair can get back safely.
Problems with the Starliner prevented Williams and Wilmore from returning as scheduled.
Since then, NASA says it has been trying to figure out the best way to bring them back, either on the Starliner or on Elon Musk's SpaceX, a Boeing rival.
But that wouldn't be until February.
"They are prepared," said Dr. Grant Tremblay, an astrophysicist with the Harvard Center for Astrophysics. "There's enough food, we do resupply missions to the International Space Station all the time. They are safe, they will return home as soon as possible when it is deemed by NASA it's absolutely safe."
NASA is still weighing different options to bring the two home.
A decision is expected in the next week or two.
