Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, two NASA astronauts, arrived at the International Space Station on June 5 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. They are planned to stay there until February 2025, when SpaceX plans to return them to Earth.
They were both slated to return to Earth in the same spaceship within 8-10 days. However, their arrival was delayed, and they were detained at the International Space Station (ISS) due to helium leaks and engine problems.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated that, while the Starliner would return without a crew, the two will return to Earth in February on a SpaceX spacecraft.
Nelson told journalists that “space flight is risky even at its safest and most routine.”
On being asked about the decision to keep them on the ISS, he said the move to return the Starliner without Williams and Wilmore “is the result of our commitment to safety,” as “our core value is safety.”
While Williams and Wilmore prepare for the long haul, the former’s family has opened up about her delay in return to Earth from space.
Her husband, Michael J. Williams, and astronaut mom, Bonnie Pandya, appeared to be less worried about how Sunita is faring while up in space.
“That’s her happy place,” stated Michael in an interview to the Wall Street Journal in August 2024.
Meanwhile, Bonnie Pandya stated she is unbothered if her daughter is taking longer than expected to return to Earth, stating that Wilmore and Williams are both working hard at their jobs at the ISS.
In an interview with NewsNation host Andrew Cuomo on CUOMO, Pandya called her daughter a “seasoned astronaut.”
“I don’t give her any advice. She knows what to do. She is a seasoned astronaut. She’s been up for over 400 days in space,” the proud mother stated.
Pandya, who spoke to her daughter two days back, stated that Sunita told her “not to worry about her”, ensuring that “everything’s going to be fine”.
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Source; HT
