NASA to decide on Aug 24 if Boeing's new capsule safe to fly 2 astronauts

NASA said Thursday it will decide this weekend whether Boeing's new capsule is safe enough to return two astronauts from the International Space Station, where they've been waiting since June.

Administrator Bill Nelson and other top officials will meet Saturday. An announcement is expected from Houston once the meeting ends.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing's Starliner on June 5. The test flight quickly encountered thruster failures and helium leaks so serious that NASA kept the capsule parked at the station as engineers debated what to do.

SpaceX could retrieve the astronauts, but that would keep them up there until next February. They were supposed to return after a week or so at the station.

If NASA decides SpaceX is the way to go, Starliner would return to Earth empty in September.

Engineers are evaluating a new computer model for the Starliner thrusters and how they might perform as the capsule descends out of orbit for a touchdown in the U.S.