Despite indefinite landing delay, NASA insists Boeing Starliner crew not "stranded" in space

The return to Earth of Boeing's Starliner capsule is on indefinite hold pending results of new thruster tests and ongoing analysis of helium leaks that cropped up during the ship's rendezvous with the International Space Station, NASA announced Friday.

But agency officials insisted Starliner commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams are not "stranded" in space.

"We don't have a targeted (landing) date today," Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, told reporters during a teleconference. "We're not going to target a specific date until we get that testing completed.