LISTEN TO THIS STORY:
(TAMPA) When a test flight of Boeing’s Starliner encountered numerous malfunctions, the return time of Williams and Wilmore was left unknown. However, the duo finally closed this chapter of their careers on March 18th after splashing down off Florida’s Gulf coast, 278 days after their expected return.
Throughout this extended stay, Williams and Wilmore circled Earth 4,576 times, traveling around 121 million miles by the time of their return. After being extracted from their return capsule, SpaceX’s Dragon, the astronauts were seen smiling and waving while from their stretchers.
Williams and Wilmore were left at the International Space Station last spring, after NASA deemed their original craft, Starliner, unsafe for a return due to helium leaks and malfunctioning thrusters. The crew’s return was not only extended due to these errors, but also many implications involving foreign policy, budget, and space policy.
The astronauts were left at the International Space Station last spring, after NASA deemed their original craft, Starliner, unsafe for a return due to helium leaks and malfunctioning thrusters. The crew’s return was not only extended due to these errors, but also many implications involving foreign policy, budget, and space policy.
Under the new Trump Administration, the crew’s return flight had been expedited. President Donald Trump’s, senior advisor, Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX opted to use the Dragon capsule, which was already docked at the ISS for months, rather than postpone the return even longer as the newer capsule was not yet flight ready.
President Trump blames the significant delay on the Biden administration, and Musk has taken to X, claiming that Williams and Wilmore were left at the ISS for “political reasons” intensifying the debate surrounding their return.
However, the astronauts have remained impartial to the blame game, insisting that they were never truly “stuck” and supported NASA’s decisions throughout this experience.
In an interview with CBS News from the International Space Station, Suni Williams offered a different perspective.
“Were living in a remote area, but were doing world-class science as well as living with other people, for the betterment of so much,” said Williams.
Both Williams and Wilmore are proud of their time spent conducting research at the ISS over this journey. They have explained that they came prepared for the worst, knowing that their trip on the Starliner was only a test flight. Butch Wilmore has logged a total of 464 days in space over his career, and Suni Williams, a total of 608 days.
Boeing’s Starliner is still under engineering investigation, and the company is preparing to conduct more unmanned tests of the Starliner in hopes of improving its space program. SpaceX will launch the next crew for NASA as soon as July.
As for Williams and Wilmore, the two will spend time adjusting to gravity and are certainly glad to return to Earth after this odyssey.