NASA -astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore has been at the International Space Station since June, though they initially expected to stay for just eight days. But Williams told PBS Newshour recently that they are not feeling abandoned by NASA.
“Obviously, there is a lot of discussion about it, so maybe people could imagine that this is how we are, but we are not stuck,” she said. “We’re part of a bigger process, right?”
When asked about the practicality of suddenly being in the room much longer than expected without extra supplies, Wilmore said it was not a problem.
“We launched with fewer clothes if you want, and it was intentional,” he said. “We brought up a little extra gear – the necessary space station. We brought it up with us. So we took off some of our clothes. We should only be here for a week or so.
“But we did it. It wasn’t a big deal, honest. The space station program is planning for more eventualities. We store food to last four months beyond what’s expected, least. Some – most times it’s longer than that, food and other facilities, wet wipes, everything you need here.”
Earlier plans were to bring the astronauts back in late March, but now the agency’s crew-10 group of astronauts could launch already on March 12. Then reaches the crew ISS and end the transfer requirements, Williams, Wilmore, Astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov could leave the Earth ABOARD crew-9.
The Crew-10 mission will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Pilot; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, Mission Specialist, to ISS.
Read more: NASA’s first interactive twitch stream shows how much astronauts love coffee
Record Spacewalk
But because their stay was expanded, Williams set a record. She walked on a 5-hour 26-minute spacewalk with Wilmore, and with that walk, the record set by a woman set up by a woman for time on space walks. According to Space.com, Williams now has 62 hours and 6 minutes of space walking and exceeds former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who had 60 hours and 21 minutes.
On this latest space walk, the two worked to finally remove a defective radio communications unit, one that astronauts of two previous space walks were unable to remove.
Williams previously collaborated with astronaut Nick Hague on a space walk on January 16. On that space walk, Williams and Hague replaced a speed GYRO assembly that helps preserve the orientation of Orbital Outpost, NASA said. Astronauts also installed patches to cover damaged areas with lightweight filters on Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray file cup, replaced a reflector unity on one of the international docking adapters and controlled access areas and plug tools that astronauts will use for future maintenance of alpha-magnet spectrometer.
NASA -astrronaut Suni Williams is seen outside the International Space Station under 16 January 2025, Spacewalk.
Trump and Musk
The astronauts are scheduled to come home in March. But it may not be fast enough for President Donald Trump.
“I just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to ‘go and get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have almost been abandoned in the space of the Biden administration,” Trump wrote in truth social, according to NPR. “Good luck elon !!!”
The astronauts are far from abandoned. The delay was caused because NASA and Boeing engineers discovered problems with the spacecraft that brought the astronauts into space and chose to return that vehicle to the ground without crew.
And it is unclear what Musk could do, as the two are already scheduled to fly home on a capsule made by his company, SpaceX, and that capsule is already rooted in the ISS. So technically, the astronauts could go home at any time, but it would leave the space station briefly and jeopardize projects, says NPR. The two astronauts say that even if they miss out on their families, they still have work to keep them busy.
“Eventually we will go home,” Williams said at a recent news conference. “We left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do here and we have to get those things done before we go.”
‘To live in the room is super fun’
But Williams and Wilmore do not complain about their extended stays.
“I like everything about being up here,” Williams said in early December. “To live in the room is super fun.”
The astronauts are busy with Williams and Wilmore, helping the other ISS residents in rumbotany studies and other research, according to NASA’s ISS blog. They have helped in more than 60 scientific studies in their nearly six months on board, the Washington Post reports.
Here’s what you need to know about what the two astronauts have up to.
Who are the astronauts?
Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and are both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astrronaut since 1998 and Wilmore since 2000. Both have plenty of experience in space.
Williams is the former record holder for most space walks of a woman (seven) and most space hiking time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007 she ran the first marathon of any person in the room.
In 2009, Wilmore Space Shuttle Atlantis piloted on his mission to ISS, and in 2014 he was part of the ISS crew that used a 3D printer to manufacture a tool-a ratchet screw key-in space, the first time people produced something off-world.
What was their original mission in space?
Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as a pilot, traveled to ISS on a 15-foot wide, Boeing-made capsule called Starliner. They were launched on June 5 and rooted with ISS on June 6th. NASA HOPES Starliner will give the organization a new way to get crews to and from ISS, and the fact that it’s Boeing-Made is another sign that NASA is starting to lean on the private sector for its human space opportunities, the New York Times reported.
Wilmore and Williams’ ISS missions should last only eight days where they would test aspects of Starliner and see how it works with a human crew in space. But due to complications with Starliner, the two astronauts are still up there.
What do the astronauts say?
The astronauts have been positive for their experience. At a live news conference in September, Williams said that despite knowing that their mission was scheduled to take only eight days, they both had “training for a number of years” for it. They are fully qualified to stay in space for a long period of time and to help piloting SpaceX Dragon vessel that brings them home next year.
“It’s very peaceful up here,” Williams said on September 13, though she added that they miss their families back on earth.
Astronauts work on research, maintenance and data analysis during their extended stays.
“We have fun here at the ISS,” Williams said at a news conference held from Orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch doesn’t complain that we’re up here for a few extra weeks.”
Wilmore and Williams answer media questions back in March.
How did they get stuck in the room in the first place?
Starliner was delayed in May due to a problem with a valve in the rocket. Then engineers had to fix a helium leak. That’s all bad news for Boeing. It is competing with SpaceX, which has transported astronauts to ISS since 2020, making over 20 successful trips to the space station.
Starliner finally launched, at the top of an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, but some problems came with it. NASA announced that three helium leaks were identified, one of which was known before flight, and two new ones. In addition to the leaks, the crew had to troubleshoot unsuccessful controls, although the vessel was able to dock with ISS.
SpaceX has also had mistakes. A Falcon 9 rocket exploded on Launchpad in 2016. In July this year, a Falcon 9 -rocket experienced a floating oxygen leak and put his satellites in the wrong course, the New York Times reported. And a Falcon 9 rocket at the end of August lost a first-step booster as it overturned into the Atlantic and fired fire.
But that said, SpaceX has more than 300 successful Falcon 9 aircraft for its credit.
Stuck in space: A timeline
- May: The Starliner launch delayed due to a problem with a valve in the rocket, and then a helium leak.
- June 5: Starliner is launched with Williams and Wilmore on board.
- June 6: Starliner dock with ISS despite having treated three helium leaks and failed controls.
- September 6: Starliner departs ISS and lands in New Mexico and leaves Williams and Wilmore afterwards.
- September 28: SpaceX Crew-9 Mission is launched with Hague and Gorbunov on a dragon room vessel.
- September 29: SpaceX Dragon Docks with ISS.
- December 17: NASA announces the launch of four crew to ISS will be delayed from February to the end of March.
- March 2025 onwards: Spacex Dragon Spacecraft returns to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov.