Home News Headlines NASA’s two stuck astronauts are finally closing in on their return to Earth after 9 months in space
News Headlines

NASA’s two stuck astronauts are finally closing in on their return to Earth after 9 months in space

Share
Share

NASA’s two stuck astronauts are just a few weeks away from finally returning to Earth after nine months in space.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have to wait until their replacements arrive at the International Space Station next week before they can check out later this month.

They’ll be joined on their SpaceX ride home by two astronauts who launched by themselves in September alongside two empty seats.

During a news conference Tuesday, Wilmore said that while politics is part of life, it did not play into his and Williams’ return, moved up a couple weeks thanks to a change in SpaceX capsules. President Donald Trump and SpaceX’s Elon Musk said at the end of January that they wanted to accelerate the astronauts’ return, blaming the previous administration.

But Williams, in response to a question, did take issue with Musk’s recent call to dump the space station in two years, rather than waiting until NASA’s projected deorbit in 2031. She noted all the scientific research being performed at the orbiting lab.

“This place is ticking. It’s just really amazing, so I would say we’re actually in our prime right now,” said Williams, a three-time space station resident. “I would think that right now is probably not the right time to say quit, call it quits.”

Williams said she can’t wait to be reunited with her Labrador retrievers. The hardest part about the unexpected extended stay, she added, was the wait by their families back home.

“It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us,” she said. “We’re here. We have a mission. We’re just just doing what we do every day, and every day is interesting because we’re up in space and it’s a lot of fun.”

Wilmore and Williams expected to be gone just a week or so when they launched last June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, making its crew debut after years of delay. The Starliner had so many problems getting to the space station that NASA ruled it too dangerous to carry anyone and it flew back empty.

Their homecoming was further delayed by extra completion time needed for the brand new SpaceX capsule that was supposed to deliver their replacements.

Last month, NASA announced the next crew would launch in a used capsule instead, pushing up liftoff to March 12. The two crews will spend about a week together aboard the space station before Wilmore and Williams depart with NASA’s Nick Hague and the Russian Space Agency’s Alexander Gorbunov.

Wilmore and Williams — retired Navy captains and repeat space fliers — have insisted over the months that they are healthy and committed to the mission as long as it takes. They took a spacewalk together in January.

They will wear generic SpaceX flight suits for the ride back, not the usual custom-made outfits bearing their names because their trip home in a Dragon capsule was unplanned. That’s fine with them, although Wilmore hinted he might use a pen to write his name on his suit.

“We’re just Butch and Suni,” Williams said. “Everybody knows who we are by now.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Share

Latest News

Related Articles
Boats

For Sale! 2016 Sea Ray 350 Sundancer – $180,000

Reel Deal Yacht is pleased to feature a meticulously maintained 2016 Sea...

Sports

Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald ‘expects’ Jon Rahm will make European team, but gives no assurances

Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald expects Jon Rahm to be a member...

Sports

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs face Dak Prescott and the Cowboys on Thanksgiving

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs will visit the...

Sports

Flagg, the presumed No. 1 pick, settling into his new reality now that Dallas has won draft lottery

Cooper Flagg is starting to settle into his new reality. The former...

Sports

Rose and Jackson get posthumous reprieve, but gambling on baseball is still MLB’s biggest sin

It was more than 100 years ago that Shoeless Joe Jackson was...

About Us

Founded by Francesca Perez in Miami in 2022, A BIT LAVISH is your go-to source for luxury living insights. Covering yachts, boats, real estate, health, and news, we bring you the best of Miami's vibrant lifestyle. Discover more with Miami's Magazine.

Newsletter

Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates and articles directly to your inbox.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Copyright © 2024 ABIT LAVISH. Miami's Magazine Est. 2022, All rights reserved.

Legal Notice: At A Bit Lavish, we pride ourselves on maintaining high standards of originality and respect for intellectual property. We encourage our audience to uphold these values by refraining from unauthorized copying or reproduction of any content, logo, or branding material from our website. Each piece of content, image, and design is created with care and protected under copyright law. Please enjoy and share responsibly to help us maintain the integrity of our brand. For inquiries on usage or collaborations, feel free to reach out to us +1 305.332.1942.

Translate »