Butch Wilmore and Zuni Williams are known around the world as the stranded astronauts. Six months into space on December 5th, with two more remaining.
The pair rocketed into orbit on June 5, the first time aboard Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on what was supposed to be a week-long test flight. They arrived at the International Space Station the next day. After overcoming thruster failures and helium leaks, NASA deemed the capsule too risky for a return flight. So it would be February before their long and trying mission came to an end.
Meanwhile, NASA managers are loath to call them stranded or stranded. Two retired Navy captains also ignored explanations for their plight. They insist they are fine and accept their fate. Mr. Wilmore saw it as indirect. “We are just on different paths.”
“I love everything about being here,” Ms. Williams told students on Dec. 4 from the elementary school named after her in Needham. Massachusetts which is her hometown “Just being in space is really fun.”
Both astronauts had lived there before. Therefore, they quickly became a full-fledged crew. They help with science experiments and household chores, like fixing broken toilets. Vacuum the dust from the vents. and water the plants Ms Williams took over as station commander in September.
“Mindset goes a long way,” Mr. Wilmore said in response to a question from a first grade student. Nashville in October He is from Mount Juliet, Tenn. “I don't view these situations in life as bad.”
Boeing flew a Starliner capsule home empty in September, and NASA transferred Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams to a SpaceX flight that wasn't due to depart until late February. Two other astronauts were bumped to make room and maintain a six-month crew rotation schedule.
The same goes for other station staff. Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams are trained for spacewalking and unexpected situations that may arise.
“When the team went up They know they can stay there for up to a year,” said NASA Administrator Jim Free.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio found out the hard way when the Russian space agency had to rush to procure a replacement capsule for him and two cosmonauts in 2023, pushing their six-month mission to just one year.
Boeing said this week that information from Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams was “very valuable” in its ongoing investigation into what went wrong. The company said in a statement that it is preparing for the Starliner's next flight. But declined comment on when it would be relaunched.
NASA also holds high praise for both.
“Whether it's luck or selection. They are great people for this mission,” Dr. J.D. Polk, NASA's chief health and medical officer, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
above all else Miss Williams has had to deal with what she calls “rumours” of a drastic weight loss. She confirmed that her weight was the same as on opening day, which Polk confirmed.
During a student discussion on Dec. 4, Ms. Williams said she didn't have much of an appetite when she first arrived in space, but now she is “really hungry” and eats three meals a day plus snacks. along with recording the required two hours of exercise per day
Ms. Williams, a distance runner, uses the space station's 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 there as well.
She has a New England shirt. The Patriots have it on hand for game day. and Red Sox spring training jerseys.
“Hopefully I can get home before that happens. But you never know,” she said in November of her husband, Michael Williams, a retired federal general. and former navy pilot are caring for their dog at their home in Houston.
For Mr. Wilmore He misses his youngest daughter's senior year in high school and his older daughter's theater productions in college.
“We cannot deny that the separation was unexpected. Especially during holidays when the whole family gets together. It created a greater desire to share time and events together,” his wife, Deanna Wilmore, told the AP in a text message this week that her husband was “worse off than we were” because he was confined to the station. space and can only be connected via video for a short period of time.
“We are definitely looking forward to February!!” she wrote.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
