Two American astronauts stranded in space for eight months said it was difficult to watch their crippled spacecraft leave the International Space Station without them, but they were happy and trained to “expect the unexpected.”
At a news conference on Friday, Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmaur appeared happy and healthy after NASA asked them to remain aboard the International Space Station due to potential malfunctions with their Boeing Starliner reentry vehicle.
“This is my happy place,” Ms Williams said, but admitted she missed her family and her two dogs.
They said they were “not relieved” by some of the problems they encountered aboard Starliner, but were still sad to see it leave the station and return to Earth without them this week.
The couple thanked people for sending messages and prayers. “The concern we feel in particular warms our hearts,” Mr Wilmore said.
When asked if he was disappointed with NASA, Wilmohr replied, “Absolutely not.”
The duo left Earth in June for an eight-day mission to test Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Engineers noticed problems with the thrusters and a helium leak, and NASA decided to keep Williams, 58, and Wilmore, 61, aboard the International Space Station until 2025.
They are scheduled to return on a spacecraft built by SpaceX, a competitor of Boeing.
The two companies have been awarded contracts from NASA to provide commercial space travel for astronauts, in the hope that this will lower costs.
Neither astronaut is likely to say anything critical of NASA or Boeing.
Mr Wilmore acknowledged there were problems with the Starliner.
“We found some things that we weren’t comfortable with when we had other options,” he said.
But he added that he believed the vehicle could eventually be used as a re-entry vehicle.
“We could have gotten to the point where we could have returned on Starliner, but we simply ran out of time,” he said.
The spacecraft returned to Earth last week without a crew, and will now be analyzed to determine what happened.
The astronauts said it was a difficult time for them and it was hard to watch the Starliner leave without them.
“We were watching our spaceship fly away,” Ms. Williams said.
Mr Wilmore said 90 per cent of the training was “preparation for the unexpected”.
He added that they would stay there for “eight months, nine months, 10 months” if necessary.
They also discussed their daily routine – Mr. Wilmohr wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and Mrs. Williams at 6:30 a.m.
Both said they enjoy the two or more hours of exercise they must do each day to combat bone density loss caused by living in space.
“Your joints don’t hurt, which is very nice,” Mr. Wilmore added.
They applied for mail-in ballots so they could vote in the upcoming U.S. election.
Being in space makes her think more about Earth, Ms. Williams said.
“This opens the door to thinking a little bit differently,” she added. “It’s the only planet we have, and we have to take care of it.”
“There are so many people on Earth sending us messages that make you feel at home with everyone.”
“Devoted student. Bacon advocate. Beer scholar. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot. Typical coffee enthusiast.”