'Miss our families': Astronauts left behind by Starliner share updates from the ISS
It's things like family. A daughter's senior year in high school. Spouses. Pet dogs. Even just regular exercise routines are missed.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams admitted Friday that, yes, of course, their year did not turn out as they'd expected. When they headed to the International Space Station onboard Starliner on a test flight in June, they thought they'd be returning home just eight days later. Williams referenced fall activities she'd had in mind, including spending time with her mom.
But that wasn't to be, and both said repeatedly during a video call from the International Space Station with journalists on Friday that they quickly adapted to what will now be an eight-month mission and a return on a spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon, that they didn't plan traveling on. They're doing well, they said. They love being in space. And as both were previously Navy test pilots and their journey to the station on the troubled Starliner was a test flight, they knew there was always a risk of things going wrong.
"We always miss our families. I miss my two dogs. I miss my friends," said Williams. "But you know what? Like Butch said, there's so many people on Earth that are sending us messages, and it makes you feel just right at home with everybody − when we're able to have those conversations with our friends and family at home. So I know they understand. I know it's tough on them as well as you know, being away from home, of course, but everybody understands, and everybody's cheering for us to get back with Crew-9."
Wilmore and Williams floated in front of the camera as activity on the International Space Station took place behind them Friday. Williams sported a white shirt with the NASA logo while Wilmore donned a dark colored shirt with the Navy astronaut wings logo. It was Sept. 7 that the troubled Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing returned to Earth without them − NASA unable to determine its reliability to bring them home safely.
"That is the nature of every single test flight, especially a first flight of a spacecraft or an aircraft," Wilmore said. "90% of our training is preparing for the unexpected, and sometimes the actual unexpected goes beyond what you even think could happen. And that's just the way it goes sometime because we are pushing the edges of the envelope and everything that we do, and it is not easy."
Williams added: "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."
Astronauts left behind by Starliner:Timeline of space saga
Starliner astronauts watch as their Boeing spacecraft returns to Earth without them
As the duo watched Starliner return to Earth without them on Sept. 7, NASA unable to determine the reliability of the spacecraft's troublesome thrusters, did they feel stuck, journalists wanted to know Friday.
"Absolutely not. Never entered my mind. I don't think Suni's either. Until you mentioned it," answered Wilmore.
Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network, spoke with Emmanuel Urquieta, vice chair of aerospace medicine and associate professor of medicine at the University of Central Florida, on the possibility of mental and physical impacts to the astronauts who will now spend eight months in orbit.
"I don't think there's any impact to them. These are absolutely professional astronauts," said Urquieta. "You know, (they were) highly selected by NASA when they became astronaut candidates, both from a psychological and medical perspective. They have been in space multiple times."
Williams said when she and Wilmore were preparing to fly Starliner, they talked about it being a test flight and what that might entail. She said they not only trained on the Boeing spacecraft but also for the stay aboard the space station, although it wasn't expected to be this long.
"Both of us had been up here before, so we have a little bit of experience, and so we could dive right into the International Space Station training. So we are fully qualified crew members, both qualified in spacewalking EVAs and robotics for visiting vehicles. So the transition was not that hard," said Williams.
The two will be joining NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who are set to launch on a SpaceX Dragon no earlier than Sept. 24, as part of Crew-9. NASA had to make adjustments to Crew-9 to allow two seats for Williams and Wilmore to come home on the Dragon in February. With Dragon only certified to carry four astronauts, astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, who had originally been part of the Crew-9 mission, will instead be assigned to a future flight.
When Hague and Gorbunov arrive, Williams will be named commander of the space station.
Urquieta told Florida Today there's little to worry about in terms of medical impacts on the astronauts. On the space station, exposure to radiation is not drastic, as they are still below the Van Allen radiation belt, and therefore are shielded from the majority of cosmic radiation.
"They have to do two hours of exercise every day. They have the cupola (window) − they can look at the planet anytime they want. Constantly, there's new resupply vehicles going in and out of the space station to bring new supplies, to take out old supplies. So, you know, they can send them care packages from the families, fresh food. I really don't think there's any any potential impacts to them whatsoever," said Urquieta.
Urquieta also noted that it's not new for astronauts to serve long duration missions. Astronauts have lived onboard the space station for over a year. Just last year, Frank Rubio returned from a stay that lasted over a year when debris stuck the Soyuz spacecraft he traveled to the space station on. He and his two Russian cosmonaut crewmates ended up waiting a year to return on another Soyuz − and returned to Earth with no ill effects.
Starliner crew speak on family
While Williams mentioned she misses her family, her husband, and two dogs, Wilmore noted he will miss most, his youngest daughter's senior year of high school.
"We try to teach them the principles that are important, and let them understand that trials, however you judge what a trial might be, makes you stronger," said Wilmore. "In that respect, I'm grateful."
Both said they did believe Starliner could have brought them home, but fully accepted NASA's decision. Williams said she was glad to see Starliner make it back safely.
"You have to be resilient," said Wilmore, adding that he doesn't harp on what could have been. "It's not what we do."
Meanwhile, Wilmore's teenage daughter, Logan Wilmore, took to social media to assure the public the family is not worried about her dad.
Logan posted a video of her and her father to the social media app TikTok which received more than 3.3 million reactions. The caption reads "not dead, just stuck in space. I'm not worried at all just miss him!"
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.