After 9 Months In Space, Sunita Williams Shares What She Will Miss The Most
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Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were expected to be away for just a week when they launched last June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule.
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams’ return is expected later this month. (Photo Credits: X)
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who have been stranded in space for the past nine months, are finally nearing their return to Earth. Their homecoming is expected later this month, but they must wait for their replacements to arrive at the International Space Station (ISS) next week before departing. During a recent press conference, Wilmore and Williams expressed their excitement and anticipation about returning home.
When asked what she would miss the most about space, Williams said, “Everything about space. This has been Butch and mine third flight to the ISS. We helped put it together, we have been up here watching it change.”
She talked about how much she enjoyed living and working in space. “Just living here gives us a unique perspective— not just outside the window, obviously— but on how to solve problems. I don’t want to lose that spark of inspiration and perspective when I leave so I am going to have to bottle it up, somehow,” she added.
Sunita Williams is also looking forward to seeing her Labrador retrievers again and admitted that the hardest part of the extended stay was the wait for their families. “It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us,” she said.
On the other hand, Wilmore joked about how being in space makes aches and pains disappear. He also shared that one of the most important tasks during the mission was getting someone into a spacewalk suit. He further said that his proudest moment was opening the hatch and bringing them back inside safely after the walk.
Wilmore and Williams were expected to be away for just a week when they launched last June on Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, making its crew debut after years of delay. However, the journey didn’t go as planned. The Starliner faced several issues on its way to the space station and NASA decided it wasn’t safe enough to bring the astronauts back. As a result, the capsule returned to Earth empty.
Their return was delayed even further because of the time needed to complete work on a brand-new SpaceX capsule that was meant to bring their replacements.
Last month, NASA announced the next crew would launch in a used capsule instead, for which the launch date was set to March 12.
Once the new crew arrives, both teams will spend about a week together at the space station. After that, Wilmore and Williams will finally head home along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
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