‘There Were Some Tough Times’: Stranded NASA Astronauts Open Up About Extended Stay in Space

A NASA astronaut who’s been stranded in space since June requested his absentee ballot Friday — in just one of the ways he’s keeping up with life on Earth after being told his days-long journey to space would be extended to more than half a year.Two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, have been at the International Space Station since June 9 after an early test flight on Boeing’s Starliner had malfunctioning thrusters and helium leaks. Now, the pair will be in space until a SpaceX capsule brings them back in February 2025. The Starliner, meanwhile, successfully returned home without the crew last week. “It’s been quite an evolution over the last three months,” Mr. Wilmore said in a Friday call that marked the first news conference the two astronauts have held since July — and offered a glimpse into their mindsets after their original ride came home without them. “It was trying at times. There were some tough times all the way through. You certainly, as the commander and the PLT of your spacecraft, don’t want to see it go off without you. But that’s where we wound up.”Despite the “trying” times, the pair appeared optimistic overall — expressing gratitude for what they’ve learned and appreciation for the “heartwarming” prayers and support they’ve been receiving from across the country as they keep up with life back home.“I sent down my request for a ballot today, as a matter of fact, and they should get it to us in a couple of weeks,” Mr. Wilmore said, adding that they’re “excited” about having the opportunity to vote. The upcoming election is just one of the many events and milestones the astronauts are missing back on Earth. Ms. Williams said she missed her friends, family, and two dogs, but that conversations with people back on Earth make her feel “right at home.” Mr. Wilmore didn’t get to spend the summer with his daughter who is in college, and is missing most of his other daughter’s senior year in high school.He said that he and his wife have tried to teach their daughters that “to be resilient, you have to go with what the good Lord gives you.” He said that trials “make you stronger” and that his daughters will learn and grow from this “like they never could have in any other situation.” Mr. Wilmore’s Christian faith plays a critical role in his life and work, as the Sun has reported, and while he touched on it several times in the news conference, he said he didn’t want to go too far “outside of the realm” of what he should say in the forum. “I will say this, if you really want to know how I feel about all of this, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. You can look that up, and it’ll kind of tell the story,” Mr. Wilmore said. Since the pair’s stay in space was extended by months, he has tried to take a resilient attitude towards it and look forward to what’s next, he noted.“I don’t look back and say, woulda, shoulda, coulda. I look back and say, going forward, how can I fix, what can we do to make this better?,” he said. He said he doesn’t “fret” over things that he “can’t control,” which helped him mentally transition from a days-long journey to a months-long one. “My transition was, maybe it wasn’t instantaneous, but it was pretty close. If I can’t affect it, if there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing we can do,” he said, adding that they’ll “march forward.”In the coming weeks, Ms. Williams will take over as the Commander of the Space Station, and the pair said they “look forward” to the next few months of being with other crew members on the space station. “I think the up part is, we’re here with our friends. We’ve got a ride home, and you know, we’re looking forward to the next couple months and doing a lot of stuff for the International Space Station,” Ms. Williams said. Both astronauts are staying healthy in space by working out often and mixing up exercises so they don’t lose bone density and muscle mass. “Both of us have been up here before, so we have a little bit of experience, and so we could dive right into the International Space Station training,” Ms. Williams said. “I think the transition has been pretty smooth. It wasn’t what we expected. However, we were prepared.”Though she’s missing out on family plans for the fall and winter, which made her “nervous” at first, Ms. Williams said everyone has been “on board” and supportive of them.“This is my happy place,” she said. “ I love being up here in space.”

‘There Were Some Tough Times’: Stranded NASA Astronauts Open Up About Extended Stay in Space

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