From 10 days to 9 months: A look at NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's extended ISS stay
From 10 days to 9 months: A look at NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s extended ISS stay(AFP)
Sunita Williams' return: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally set to return to Earth on March 16, Sunday. Although the duo's return, is due in just a week, a look at their odyssey would make us time travel nearly nine months back.
Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months, after the pair embarked on what was meant to be a 10-day mission aboard Boeing's Starliner.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in ISS - a timeline
Here's a glimpse at Sunita William and Butch Wilmore's time in the ISS.
June 2024: The duo begins the space expedition
Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore launched into space on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, with plans to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) for eight days. Shortly after the launch, the astronauts reported a “stable and isolated leak," reported the Associated Press, which ultimately extended the astronaut's stay to beyond eight days.
August 2024: NASA hints at delayed return
Two months after the Starliner's faulty launch, NASA confirmed that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore would return to Earth on a SpaceX mission in February or March 2025.
November 2024: Astronauts celebrate Thanksgiving
Williams and Wilmore celebrated Thanksgiving in Space, with Sunita Williams asking the people on Earth not to worry about them.
“People are worried about us, really, don’t worry about us,” she added. “We’re feeling good, working out, eating right. We have a lot of fun up here, too," Sunita Williams told NBC Nightly News.
December 2024: Return delayed
NASA announced that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's return to Earth would be delayed. While the original plan was for the duo to return in February, delays in the SpaceX mission scheduled to retrieve them resulted in their stay being extended to March - April, according to NASA.
February 2025: Sunita Williams ‘abandoned’?
In February, US President Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had been “virtually abandoned” in space. However, the astronauts pushed back on the president’s claim, stating they ‘didn’t feel stuck.'
Sunita Williams and Butch also confirmed they’d be returning to Earth when SpaceX launches its Dragon capsule on March 12.
March 2025: Sunita Williams to return home
NASA officials announced on Saturday, March 8, that Crew 9, which includes astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return only after Crew 10 is launched into space.
NASA added that if the conditions are not favourable for Crew 10 launch on March 12, there are backup opportunities for a launch on March 13 at 7:35 pm and March 14 at 7:04 pm.
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