07:16 AM EDT, 08/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates to add Boeing's ( BA ) statement in the fifth paragraph.)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA said Saturday that it will return Boeing's ( BA ) Starliner spacecraft back to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

According to the statement, NASA and Boeing ( BA ) identified helium leaks and experienced issues with Starliner's reaction control thrusters as it approached the International Space Station in June. While a "significant amount of work" has been completed on the spacecraft since, NASA said "uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence" does not meet its human spaceflight requirements.

NASA said the Starliner's uncrewed return will allow it to continue gathering testing data, without risking its crew. The agency also said it will work with Boeing ( BA ) in the coming weeks to set up the spacecraft's return, targeting the controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September.

Starliner is expected to depart from the space station and make a safe, controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September. Meanwhile, Wilmore and Williams will continue their work as part of a different expedition crew through February 2025, NASA added.

"We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return," a Boeing ( BA ) spokesperson said in an emailed statement to MT Newswires.

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