Musk Lost In Space.....NASA astronauts 'STRANDED' in space due to malfunctioning Boeing Starliner - as experts say SpaceX could perform a rescue mission

NASA has delayed the return of two astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) for the third time, raising concerns the crew could be 'stranded.' Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were initially scheduled for a nine-day stay, which was pushed back twice this month and now sits at an undetermined date. The extended stay is to allow more time for review of technical issues encountered by the capsule as it traveled to the ISS, which included thruster failures and leaking valves, Boeing said in a statement.Katsuo Kurabayashi, professor of aerospace engineering at New York University said: 'Given the current situation with the Starliner, it is possible that NASA could decide to use an alternative spacecraft, like SpaceX's Crew Dragon, to bring the astronauts home safely.As far as I can tell at this point, the recent delay of the mission to July alone shouldn't raise serious concerns leading to another highly challenging rescue mission or the future abandonment of Starliner-based missions. 'But if they start talking about a rescue mission by chance, it would indicate that there are some serious, potentially life-threatening hardware defects found with Starliner.' The astronauts' return was first pushed backed to June 14 and last week it was rescheduled for June 26. NASA indicated that its staff was evaluating return dates after the station’s two planned space walks on June 24 and July 2 - hoping to bring the two astronauts back to Earth no later than early July. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said: 'We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process. 'We are letting the data drive our decision making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking. 'Additionally, given the duration of the mission, it is appropriate for us to complete an agency-level review, similar to what was done ahead of the NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 return after two months on orbit, to document the agency’s formal acceptance on proceeding as planned.' Source