'Happy to be there': What next for the Boeing Starliner crew stranded on the ISS?

The two astronauts marooned on the International Space Station (ISS) with no return date probably “have a big smile on their face and happy to be there,” according to the French former astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy. 

Boeing Starliner test crew Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni"  Williams left Earth on June 5 and were supposed to be back eight days later. 

But several issues on the Boeing craft mean their return has been put on hold three times. According to Reuters, they might not return from orbit until July 6.

In an interview with Euronews Next, Clervoy said it is not a worrying scenario the astronauts are concentrating and doing their jobs. 

They are in close communication with the team on the ground and can call their families everyday. If anything, it gives them more time on the ISS, which he said they would "enjoy".

They are also astronauts you can trust, said the French former astronaut, who has worked with both Wilmore and Williams in the past and has a close friendship with Wilmore. 

"He's an extraordinary guy. You can confide in him 100 per cent and he'll be the guy who'll do anything to help you and save you," Clervoy said.

"He’s the kind of astronaut when you meet him, you think you'd like to fly with him. Sunita is the same, from what I know of her from a professional relationship, she's a very nice girl, very competent".

Media reports have said they are "stuck" on the ISS, a term which Clervoy strongly rejects.

If the ISS has to be evacuated, the Starliner can be used as a lifeboat, he said, adding that "despite the problems, Starliner is capable of fulfilling this function, with slightly degraded redundancies but it’s enough to get Bush and Sunita back safely".

Starliner can stay docked at the ISS for up to 45 days, said NASA’s commercial crew manager Steve Stich in comments to the media.

"They're not stuck. What they are is waiting for Boeing," said Laura Forczyk, owner of the space consulting firm Astralytical.

"They are looking to see how they can evaluate Starliner while it is attached to the ISS," she told Euronews Next. 

"That's because there are certain things that they cannot evaluate on the ground," Forczyk said, adding that the