Known across the globe as the stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams hit the six-month mark in space Thursday with two more to go. The pair rocketed into orbit on June 5, the first to ride Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule on what was supposed to be a weeklong test flight. They arrived at the International Space Station the next day, only after overcoming a cascade of thruster failures and helium leaks. The capsule was deemed too risky for a return flight so it will be February before their long and trying mission comes to a close. Both astronauts have lived up there before so they quickly became full-fledged members of the crew, helping with science experiments and doing chores, fixing a broken toilet, vacuuming the air vents and watering the plants. Williams took over as station commander in September. NASA sent their capsule home empty in September and moved Wilmore and Williams to a SpaceX flight not due back until late February. Two other astronauts were bumped to make room and to keep to a six-month schedule for crew rotations. Boeing said this week that input from Wilmore and Williams has been “invaluable" into the ongoing inquiry into what went wrong. The company said in a statement that it is preparing for Starliner's next flight but declined comment on when it might launch again. Williams, a distance runner, uses the space station treadmill to support races in her home state. She competed in Cape Cod’s 7-mile Falmouth Road Race in August. She ran the 2007 Boston Marathon up there as well. She has a New England Patriots shirt with her for game days, as well as a Red Sox spring training shirt. “Hopefully I’ll be home before that happens -- but you never know,” she said in November. Husband Michael Williams, a retired federal marshal and former Navy aviator, is caring for their dogs back home in Houston. As for Wilmore, 61, he's missing his youngest daughter's senior year in high school and his oldest’s theater productions in college. “We can’t deny that being unexpectedly separated, especially during the holidays when the entire family gets together, brings increased yearnings to share the time and events together,” his wife, Deanna Wilmore, told the AP in a text this week. Her husband “has it worse than us” since he's confined to the space station and can only connect via video for short periods. “We are certainly looking forward to February!!” she wrote.