Two NASA astronauts stranded in space after a failure involving a spaceship Boeing has held its first press conference.
Astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita Williams have been stuck on the International Space Station since Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft took them there on June 6.
The extended stay has proven challenging for his family on Earth as well. Wilmore and his wife have two daughters, one a senior in high school and the other in college.
Wilmore said that the mission’s late return would cause him to miss out on most of his youngest daughter’s senior year, and he did not get to spend the summer with his eldest before he returned to college.
But he hoped her absence would make him stronger. “They’re going to learn from this, and they’re going to grow from this,” he said.
Sunita Williams (L) and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore answer questions live from the International Space Station on Friday, where they have been stranded for more than three months.
Sunita left her husband and two dogs at home when the Starliner departed three months ago.
He said he missed taking his dog for a walk in the morning and hearing the sound of the day starting on Earth, like a bird chirping.
But being able to see the home planet out of the ISS window ‘takes you to a different place, it’s very peaceful,’ he said.
The Starliner launched on June 5 with the goal of docking at the ISS about a week before returning Wilmore and Williams safely to Earth.
But the mission has gotten off to a rocky start. In the previous week, the launch was delayed several times due to technical problems with the spacecraft.
Even on liftoff day, the Starliner suffered a small helium leak that engineers determined was not severe enough to delay the launch again.
It was all downhill from there. When the Starliner reached the ISS, more helium leaked and five of the 18 thrusters failed.
Eventually, NASA decided that it would be too dangerous for Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth in the Starliner.
A complete timeline of Boeing’s Starliner program, from the big contact singe to the incident that left two astronauts stranded on the ISS.
However, they are waiting for SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which will be picked up at the ISS and brought home no earlier than February 2025.
The Boeing Starliner returned to Earth unmanned on September 7.
Wilmore acknowledged the series of mishaps, saying there had been ‘some trying times’ since the start of the mission, and it was hard to see the Starliner returning home without him.
And about NASA’s decision to keep Williams and Wilmore from flying back to Earth in the spacecraft, Wilmore said ‘we found something that we couldn’t do.’
He said he might get to the point where he could get back on the Starliner, but ‘we’re just running out of time’.
Williams said that because he and Wilmore work in the Navy, they are familiar with last-minute logistical changes like this.
“We were not surprised when the spread changed,” he said, adding that his family was aware.
‘It’s risky and that’s how it goes in business,’ he said.
When a reporter asked the astronauts if they felt they were being ‘put down’ by NASA and Boeing, Wilmore replied, ‘absolutely not.’
Pointing to Williams’ T-shirt with the NASA logo, he said, ‘that represents what we are all about as an agency – we go above and beyond, we do extraordinary things.
‘It’s not easy,’ he added.
He explained that 90 percent of astronaut training is being prepared for ‘the unexpected’.
But we don’t expect astronauts to say anything critical about NASA, their employer, and the Boeing Starliner capsule that carries them to the ISS.
What’s more, it’s known that long space missions can take a toll on an astronaut’s mental and emotional health.
In simulated space missions, some experience the ‘third quarter phenomenon’: a drop in motivation due to the realization that things are still as they have been.
But if Williams and Wilmore were starting to feel bored with their stay on the ISS, they didn’t show it. His demeanor remained upbeat and cheerful throughout the press conference.
“We’re assigned and we learn and we train to handle all kinds of different situations,” Wilmore said, adding that he’s learned not only with NASA, but throughout his career.
‘You have to go with what the good Lord gives you, whatever it is.’
