ULA launched two astronauts to the International Space Station on Boeing's low-earth-orbit Starliner spacecraft in June, but problems popped up on the way. After analyzing everything, NASA decided that the craft no longer met their standards for human safety. There was "some tension in the room" when that decision was made.
So Starliner came back to Earth empty, leaving Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams there. Instead of a short stay of nine days, they will remain in place until February of 2025.
SpaceX already had a mission scheduled to carry four additional astronauts to the ISS on its Dragon spacecraft in September. It launched last Saturday, but with a reduced crew of only two. The empty seats will be taken by the stranded astronauts when this mission (Crew-9) comes home in February.
Looks like everybody at the ISS was glad to see the crew that arrived via Dragon on Sunday.
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