NASA and Boeing said Monday that Starliner could return to flight as early as December, marking a major step for the spacecraft after a troubled test mission left astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the International Space Station for more than nine months.

NASA is throwing extra support and money behind Boeing's troubled astronaut capsule to get it fixed and flying again as soon as possible.

NASA announced the commander and pilot for the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station Thursday.