NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore have been on the International Space Station since June, although they initially anticipated to remain for simply eight days. But Williams informed PBS NewsHour lately that they do not really feel deserted by NASA.”Obviously, there’s a lot of discussion about it, so maybe people could conceive that that’s the way we are, but we’re not stuck,” she stated. “We’re part of a bigger process, right?”When requested concerning the practicalities of instantly being in house for much longer than anticipated, with out additional provides, Wilmore stated that wasn’t an issue.”We did launch with fewer clothing, if you will, and that was intentional,” he stated. “We brought up some extra gear that needed — the space station needed. We brought it up with us. So we took some of our clothes off. We were only going to be here a week or so.”But we made do. It was no massive deal, actually. The house station program plans for a number of contingencies. We stockpile meals to final 4 months past what is predicted, at a minimal. Some — most occasions, it is longer than that, meals and different facilities, moist wipes, all the things that you just want up right here.” Earlier plans were to bring the astronauts back in late March, but now the agency’s Crew-10 group of astronauts could launch as early as March 12. After that crew reaches the ISS and complete the handover requirements, Williams, Wilmore, astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov could depart for Earth aboard Crew-9.The Crew-10 mission will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, pilot; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, mission specialist, to the ISS.Read more: NASA’s First Interactive Twitch Stream Shows How Much Astronauts Love CoffeeRecord spacewalkBut because their stay was extended, Williams set a record. She went on a 5-hour, 26-minute spacewalk with Wilmore, and with that walk, surpassed the record set by a woman for time spent on spacewalks. According to Space.com, Williams now has 62 hours and 6 minutes of spacewalking, surpassing former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who had 60 hours and 21 minutes.On this most recent spacewalk, the two worked to finally remove a faulty radio-communications unit, one that astronauts on two previous spacewalks were unable to remove.Williams previously teamed up with astronaut Nick Hague for a spacewalk on Jan. 16. On that spacewalk, Williams and Hague replaced a rate gyro assembly that helps maintain the orientation of the orbital outpost, NASA said. The astronauts also installed patches to cover damaged areas of light filters on the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray telescope, replaced a reflector device on one of the international docking adapters, and checked access areas and connector tools that astronauts will use for future Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer maintenance. NASA astronaut Suni Williams is seen outside the International Space Station during the Jan. 16, 2025, spacewalk. NASATrump and MuskThe astronauts are scheduled to come home in March. But that might not be fast enough for President Donald Trump.”I’ve simply requested Elon Musk and SpaceX to ‘go get’ the two courageous astronauts who’ve been just about deserted in house by the Biden Administration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to NPR. “Good luck Elon!!!”The astronauts are far from abandoned. The delay was caused because NASA and Boeing engineers discovered issues with the spacecraft that brought the astronauts into space, and chose to return that vehicle to Earth without a crew. And it’s unclear what Musk could do, since the two are already scheduled to fly home on a capsule made by his company, SpaceX, and that capsule is already docked at the ISS. So technically, the astronauts could go home at any time, but that would leave the space station short-staffed and jeopardize projects, NPR says.The two astronauts say that while they miss their families, they’ve still got work to keep them busy.”Eventually we wanna go house,” Williams said in a recent news conference. “We left our households a short while in the past, however we now have so much to do up right here and we now have to get that stuff accomplished earlier than we go.”‘Living in space is super fun’But Williams and Wilmore aren’t complaining about their extended stay.”I like all the things about being up right here,” Williams said in early December. “Living in house is tremendous enjoyable.”The astronauts are keeping busy, with Williams and Wilmore assisting the other ISS residents in space botany studies and other research, according to NASA’s ISS blog. They have aided in more than 60 scientific studies in their nearly six months on board, the Washington Post reports.Here’s what you need to know about what the two astronauts are up to.Who are the astronauts?Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and are both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astronaut since 1998, and Wilmore since 2000. Both have plenty of experience in space.Williams is the former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007, she ran the first marathon by any person in space.In 2009, Wilmore piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its mission to the ISS, and in 2014, he was part of the ISS crew that used a 3D printer to manufacture a tool — a ratchet wrench — in space, the first time humans manufactured something off-world.What was their original mission in space?Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as pilot, traveled to the ISS on a 15-foot-wide, Boeing-made capsule called Starliner. They launched on June 5 and docked with the ISS on June 6. NASA hopes Starliner will give the organization a new way to get crews to and from the ISS, and the fact that it’s Boeing-made is another sign that NASA is starting to lean on the private sector for its human spaceflight options, The New York Times reported.Wilmore and Williams’ ISS mission was supposed to last a mere eight days, during which they’d test out aspects of Starliner and see how it operates with a human crew in space. But due to complications with Starliner, the two astronauts are still up there.What are the astronauts saying?The astronauts have been positive about their experience. At a live news conference in September, Williams said that despite knowing their mission was scheduled to take only eight days, they’d both been “coaching for quite a few years” for it. They’re fully qualified to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to help pilot the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that’ll bring them home next year.”It’s very peaceable up right here,” Williams said on Sept. 13, though she added that they miss their families back on Earth.The astronauts are working on research, maintenance and data analysis during their extended stay.”We are having a good time right here on ISS,” Williams said in a news conference held from orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch is not complaining that we’re up right here for a few additional weeks.” Wilmore and Williams responding to media questions again in March. Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Getty PhotosHow did they get caught in house within the first place?The Starliner was delayed in May as a consequence of an issue with a valve within the rocket. Then engineers needed to repair a helium leak. That’s all dangerous information for Boeing. It’s competing with SpaceX, which has been transporting astronauts to the ISS since 2020, making over 20 profitable journeys to the house station. Starliner lastly launched, atop an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, however some issues got here together with it. NASA introduced that three helium leaks had been recognized, one in all which was recognized earlier than flight, and two new ones. In addition to the leaks, the crew needed to troubleshoot failed management thrusters, although the craft was in a position to efficiently dock with the ISS. SpaceX has had failures too. A Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad in 2016. In July of this yr, a Falcon 9 rocket skilled a liquid oxygen leak and deployed its satellites within the flawed orbit, The New York Times reported. And a Falcon 9 rocket in late August misplaced a first-stage booster when it toppled over into the Atlantic Ocean and caught fireplace.But that stated, SpaceX has greater than 300 profitable Falcon 9 flights to its credit score. Stuck in house: A timelineMay: Starliner launch delayed as a consequence of an issue with a valve within the rocket, after which a helium leak.June 5: Starliner launches with Williams and Wilmore on board.June 6: Starliner docks with ISS regardless of coping with three helium leaks and failed management thrusters.Sept. 6: Starliner departs ISS and lands in New Mexico, leaving Williams and Wilmore behind.Sept. 28: SpaceX Crew-9 mission launches with Hague and Gorbunov on a Dragon spacecraft.Sept. 29: SpaceX Dragon docks with ISS.Dec. 17: NASA broadcasts the launch of 4 crew members to the ISS can be delayed from February to late March.March 2025 onward: SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will return to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov.
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