Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, NASA astronauts, expressed surprise at the level of attention being paid to their mission in their first public remarks since their dramatic return to Earth.
Following a week-long mission marred by technical difficulties, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent 286 days aboard the ISS.
Williams and Wilmore spoke about their “unique” mission at a news conference on Monday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. They had planned to spend only a week or so at the orbiting outpost but ended up staying for more than nine months.
In June, the pair embarked on the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule to the space station. Nevertheless, they had to spend 286 days in orbit after running into issues with the vehicle’s thrusters during the docking procedure.
Wilmore stated, “The plan deviated greatly from our original plan, but we prepare for a variety of contingencies because we are in human spaceflight.” This road is winding. You never know where it will end up.
Wilmore went on to explain that he is concentrating on the future and using what he has learned from his unique assignment, rather than blaming any group or individual for what transpired. However, he stated both Boeing and NASA bear responsibility for the flight’s success “all the way up and down the chain.”
“This business cannot be conducted without trust,” Wilmore stated. “You must have complete faith. And it helps to preserve trust when someone in these various organizations comes forward and admits, “Hey, I am culpable for part of that issue.”
Wilmore even accused himself of failing to raise more questions before the launch of the Starliner test flight as its commander.
“I could have asked some questions, and the answers could have changed the course of events,” he stated.
Wilmore and Williams gained notoriety for their extended stay at the ISS.
Following their March 18 splashdown in a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the pair has now been back on Earth for almost two weeks.
In September, NASA officials changed their plans to return Wilmore and Williams in a SpaceX capsule but ultimately decided to return the Starliner spacecraft to Earth without any passengers.
Along with Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA astronaut Nick Hague, who were finishing up a roughly six-month ISS mission, Williams and Wilmore left the space station.
Williams and Wilmore have stated time and again that they had a great time living and working at the orbiting outpost, even though they are now known as the astronauts who were “stranded” in space.
Additionally, both astronauts were cautious to avoid getting involved in the controversy when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump made unsupported allegations that the Biden administration delayed the return flight to Earth for political reasons.
Wilmore told News that he never felt alone in space, but he was aware of the politically charged rhetoric surrounding their mission to some extent.
He remarked, “I did not consider those kinds of things.” We had a lot going on. Our mission was our main priority.
Hague claimed during Monday’s press conference that he and his fellow astronauts were mostly shielded from political clamor while on board the orbiting outpost.
He remarked, “You do not feel the politics when we are up there operating in space.” “It is solely mission-focused.”
Williams and Wilmore performed science experiments, assisted with spacewalks, and worked on maintenance projects during their prolonged stay at the space station. Williams said that although they remained busy in orbit, their extended space mission was probably much more difficult for their loved ones.
“I wanted to hug my husband and hug my dogs,” she said when asked what she would like to do as soon as she landed.
Wilmore’s daughter posted on TikTok shortly after his return to express her joy at seeing her father again after a nine-month separation.
According to Wilmore, he and Williams will meet this week with engineers, program managers, and Boeing executives to talk about improvements to the Starliner capsule. Regarding the vehicle’s upcoming flight, NASA has not yet decided whether it will be crewed or uncrewed.
Nevertheless, the astronauts stated that if given the chance, they would take another flight on Starliner.
“We will address the problems we ran into,” Wilmore declared. We intend to make it right. We will manage to make it work. Boeing is totally dedicated. NASA is fully committed. And after that, I would definitely continue.
