Astronauts stuck on space station 'fully trained' for longer stay

Pair planning a week’s stay stuck for months after Boeing Starliner flight test goes awry

Two astronauts stranded in space may sound like the start to a big-screen science thriller, but the Boeing Starliner mission is no work of Hollywood fiction.

Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams were originally scheduled to spend a little more than a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after arriving on June 6 as part of the debut crew flight test of the Starliner.

However, the spacecraft encountered several issues during the flight, and now the two astronauts will likely have to extend their stay aboard the ISS for several months.

Nasa will issue a decision by midAugust as to whether Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams can return on board Starliner, or if they will have to wait for their retrieval by a SpaceX craft.

Regardless of the call made, the two professional astronauts are prepared to weather the storm.

"Butch and Suni are ready to do whatever we need them to do," said Mr Steve Stich, a senior Nasa official, earlier this week.

Both astronauts have worked as test pilots for the US Navy, and each has already flown to the ISS twice before.