Cape Canaveral, Florida — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Stranded astronauts in space said Friday that it has been difficult to accept that the Boeing capsule has left the International Space Station without them. and the idea of spending several more months in orbit.
These were their first public comments since the Boeing Starliner capsule that carried them to the International Space Station in June returned to Earth last week. The astronauts had to stay at the station after the POT determined that the capsule, which presented a variety of problemsit was too high a risk to bring them back. Their eight-day mission is now planned to be extended to more than eight months.
“It has been difficult at times. It has been difficult since we have been here”Wilmore said from 260 miles above the surface. As pilots of a spacecraft, “you don’t want (the craft) to go away without you, but that’s what happened.”
Although they never expected to be up there for nearly a year, as the first Starliner test pilots, they knew there could be problems that would delay their return. “That’s just the way things are in this world,” Williams says.
Wilmore and Williams have become full-time members of the station crew. and assist with routine maintenance and experiments. Williams will take command of the space station in a few weeks, Wilmore told reporters during a news conference, the second since they blasted off from Florida on June 5.
The duo, along with seven other astronauts on board, greeted a Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and one American earlier this week, temporarily increasing the station’s population to 12 people. And Two more astronauts will fly aboard SpaceX at the end of this month; the two seats in the capsule that had been reserved for Wilmore and Williams will remain empty on the return trip.
The transition to life on the station “wasn’t that difficult” since both had been there before, said Williams, who did two long stays on the space station years ago.
“This is my happy place. I love being up here in space.”he said.
Wilmore added that while he didn’t adapt instantly, he did so very quickly.
The astronauts said they appreciate all the prayers and well-wishes they’ve received from so many people who don’t even know them, and that it’s helped them cope with all they miss about their lives back home.