STANDED NASA astronauts say being stuck in space is just part of the job: a stranded pair revealed in a space to Earth call
The NASA astronauts who were left stranded on the International Space Station because of technical issues with their spacecraft are keeping in good spirits — even planning to vote in November — the pair revealed in a space to Earth call with the media on Friday.
“We are pushing the edges of the envelope in everything that we do. And it is not easy,” mission commander Butch Wilmore said. “It’s not an easy thing to do, but that’s not why we do it. Maybe it’s hard for us to do it.
Their extended stay in space was caused by technical issues with their ship, the Boeing Starliner, during what was initially supposed to be a final test flight before the Starliner would be certified by NASA for regular use in missions.
After deeming it potentially unsafe to have Williams and Wilmore return aboard the Boeing spacecraft, the Starliner made its way back to Earth unmanned, where it landed safely in the New Mexico desert last week.
Boeing’s reputation has suffered a series of blows due to the problem with the Starliner, and also the fact they produce commercial airplanes.
Boeing’s 737 MAX has faced safety concerns after two crashes left hundreds of passengers dead, and Boeing has struggled to repair the public perception of their company as being lax on air safety.
Source: Stranded NASA astronauts say being stuck in space is just part of the job
NASA astronauts, Starliners, and the Space Flight Veterans: How they’ve all been aboard the International Space Station, a press conference, says Wilmore and Williams
He said that the NASA logo shirt represents something that they stand for. We go beyond. We do things that are not normally done. Humans are sent to space.
While they weren’t with their families and friends, the space flight veterans enjoyed their time aboard the International Space Station and how they could help out the crew.
The astronauts will miss Election Day on Earth in November, but that won’t keep them from participating. Williams said that they were looking forward to being able to vote in space, which was pretty cool.
Neither astronaut expressed dismay at being aboard ISS longer. “Space is my happy place,” Williams said, ”…every day you do something that’s ‘work’ — you can do it upside down, you can do it sideways, so it adds a little different perspective.”
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spoke about their continued stay aboard the International Space Station during a press conference held yesterday. The two are currently part of the crew of the International Space Station, but the Boeing Starliners that were supposed to bring them home last week were sent back to Earth.
There were issues with Starliners and NASA decided not to fly it back with the two people on board. But Wilmore said that with more time, “we could have gotten to the point, I believe, where we could have returned on Starliner. We simply ran out of time. Instead, the two have become part of the ISS crew.
What is it like to be in Space, and what is not: What do you do when you’re going to space? How do you plan to do it?
This is not easy to do. The people at NASA make a lot of things look easy. Humans are going into space, getting samples from asteroids and sending probes beyond the edge of our solar system. It’s a very risky business and things do not always turn out the way you want.”
