by Astronauts Butch Wilmore And Sunita WilliamsThe planned eight-day starliner test flight became a nine and a half month of stay Return to earth Almost two weeks ago.
They still fit the gravity of the earth after they were injected down on board 18 March on board a SpaceX crew Dragon Ferry Ship.
“I wanted to hug my husband and hug my dogs – and I will say in this order,” said Williams on Monday and added that she had eaten a grilled cheese -sandwich that reminded her of her vegetarian father when she returned home.
Her repeatedly expanded After problems with her Boeing Starliner Spacecraft, the mission, the decision of NASA three months after the start of the decision of NASA, excited enormous attention Keep them in orbit until this year and comments from President Trump claims The astronauts had been “abandoned” by the Biden administration in space.
Williams denied the feeling of being “abandoned” or “stuck” Interview with CBS News In February she said that she was “honored … here and part of the team” to be “world-class science”.
Despite their ordeal, both astronauts said on Monday that they would fly again with the Starliner.
“Because we correct all problems we have met,” said Wilmore. “We will fix it. We’ll get it up and running. Boeing is completely committed. NASA is completely committed. And I would go into it immediately.”
The astronauts admitted that the starliner has some things that have to be fixed.
“But it is a great spaceship, and it has a great ability that other spaceships do not have, and it is an honor to see this thing successfully and to be part of this program,” said Williams.
After landing, Wilmore and Williams, like all astronauts of the recurring space station, began in the Johnson Space Center Physiotherapy to help them adapt gravity.
NASA-astronauts Suni Williams, Links and Butch Wilmore laugh when they answered questions during the SpaceX crew 9 press conference of the NASA in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on March 31, 2025. / Credit: Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images
How long did the astronauts be in space?
When they sprayed from Florida’s golf coast, Wilmore and Williams had spent 286 days in space.
While the extended mission was much longer than originally planned, it is in sixth place on the list of the longest flights from US Astronauts.
The record is held by astronaut Frank RubioIts planned six-month stay on board the space station was extended to a little more than a whole year-371 days of coolant in the Russian soy, which brought him to orbit. In September 2023 he returned to earth on board a replacement sojuz.
Although his record remains unbroken, problems with the Boeing Starliner, who brought Wilmore and Williams to space, solved extensive reporting in the United States, which exceeded the reporting on Rubios a long time.
Why did the astronauts be in space for so long?
Three years after retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, NASA Boeing and SpaceX awarded contracts with several billion dollars to build ferry to carry astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX has now launched 11 piloted crew Dragon flights for NASA and five purely commercial missions. A sixth commercial start is currently planned for Monday evening.
But Boeing ran on it Several problems With his Starliner, who needed two test flights that have not not been placed, before Wilmore is 62, and Williams, 59, both earlier Start the last June 5th On the first piloted mission of the spacecraft, after the engineers had decided a small helium leak in the drive system of the ship’s drive pressure, would not deteriorate.
The next day, the astronauts successfully intended with the international space station, but the Starliner experienced additional leaks from the helium drive system and several maneuver nozzles did not produce the expected thrust.
While the flight was originally about eight days, NASA and Boeing carried out weeks with tests and analyzes to determine what caused the problems and whether the spaceship could be familiar to bring its crew back to earth safely.
By August, Boeing managers were convinced that engineers understood the problems and that the crew could actually come home safely in the Starliner.
But the NASA managers finally excluded this option and decided to keep the astronauts on board the station until the beginning of this year when they could drive home on board a SpaceX crew kite. This spaceship was started last September with only two crew members on board and two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams.
The Starliner has now successfully returned to Earth to open the practical troubleshooting and ongoing work in order to prepare for the possible resumption of flights.
Wilmore, Williams, Crew 9 Dragon Commander Nick Hague and Cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov originally planned to return to Earth in February. But the Crew 10 Dragon had to transport its replacement to the station and the flight was delayed until the end of March.
These problems and threats caused by additional delays caused NASA to switch the crew 10 flight leaves to another occupation kite, and finally shift their start until March 12 and paved the way for the crew 9 to go home.
Free -frozen Israeli hostages are the end of the war to bring the remaining Gaza Geiseln home
What is the future of the Kennedy Center?
Elton John, Brandi Carlile about her dream cooperation
