They were actually supposed to spend a maximum of ten days in space, but NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were stuck on the International Space Station for a month due to technical problems.
Although no date has been set for their return, scientists remain optimistic.
“I have a really good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft is going to take us home,” Williams said.
Despite their return to Earth aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft being repeatedly delayed, the NASA astronaut stuck in space remains optimistic.
The duo — Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore — boarded the Starliner spacecraft at the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6. Previously, the spacecraft’s launch had been delayed by a month due to a series of delays. Now their eight- to 10-day stay has turned into a month of stranded in space with no return date set.
But they remain in good spirits and told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday that they are confident their adventure will end well.
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Asked by a CBS reporter if the astronauts were confident the Starliner would bring them home safely, Wilmore said, “We're pretty confident.”
“We’ve been training a lot,” Williams said in response to a similar question from The Associated Press. “I have a really good feeling that the spacecraft is going to take us home.”
The astronauts returned Postponed to June 21To investigate problems on board the vehicle and buy time for two spacewalks on June 24 and July 2. This was preceded by the fact that the crew Five helium leaks It was discovered aboard the Starliner. The gas powers the spacecraft's reaction control system engines, allowing them to ignite.
Such problems are to be expected, Wilmore said. He called human spaceflight “a difficult business.” “Every spacecraft that has ever been developed has had a number of problems,” he added.
“This is a test flight,” Williams reiterated. “We expected to find some things. This is how we determine what we need to correct, change, and update with our mission control team.” They don’t complain about the extra time on board, Williams said. Having been on the ISS before, they felt like they were “coming home.”
“We’re having a great time here on the International Space Station,” Williams said. “It feels good to be floating around.”
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Williams, who was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998, had already spent 322 days in space before the Starliner project. Wilmore, a NASA astronaut since 2000, had also been in space for 178 days before the Starliner launch.
With Starliner, Boeing is sending a crewed spacecraft to the International Space Station for the first time. The American group is making a significant foray into commercial space business. However, it lags behind Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has been sending astronauts into space since 2020. Boeing and SpaceX were in 2014 Chosen by NASA To research commercial space transportation.
NASA representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.
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