CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA’s two stuck astronauts are conscionable a fewer weeks distant from yet returning to Earth aft 9 months successful space.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams person to hold until their replacements get astatine the International Space Station adjacent week earlier they tin cheque retired aboriginal this month.
They’ll beryllium joined connected their SpaceX thrust location by two astronauts who launched by themselves successful September alongside 2 bare seats.
During a quality league Tuesday, Wilmore said that portion authorities is portion of life, it did not play into his and Williams' return, moved up a mates weeks acknowledgment to a alteration successful SpaceX capsules. President Donald Trump and SpaceX's Elon Musk said astatine the extremity of January that they wanted to accelerate the astronauts' return, blaming the erstwhile administration.
But Williams, successful effect to a question, did instrumentality contented with Musk's caller telephone to dump the abstraction presumption successful 2 years, alternatively than waiting until NASA's projected deorbit successful 2031. She noted each the technological probe being performed astatine the orbiting lab.
“This spot is ticking. It's conscionable truly amazing, truthful I would accidental we're really successful our premier close now,” said Williams, a three-time abstraction presumption resident. “I would deliberation that close present is astir apt not the close clip to accidental quit, telephone it quits.”
Williams said she can't hold to beryllium reunited with her Labrador retrievers. The hardest portion astir the unexpected extended stay, she added, was the hold by their families backmost home.
“It’s been a roller coaster for them, astir apt a small spot much truthful than for us," she said. “We're here. We person a mission. We're conscionable just doing what we bash each day, and each time is absorbing due to the fact that we're up successful abstraction and it's a batch of fun.”
Wilmore and Williams expected to beryllium gone conscionable a week oregon truthful erstwhile they launched past June aboard Boeing’s caller Starliner capsule, making its unit debut aft years of delay. The Starliner had truthful galore problems getting to the abstraction presumption that NASA ruled it excessively unsafe to transportation anyone and it flew backmost empty.
Their homecoming was further delayed by other completion clip needed for the marque caller SpaceX capsule that was expected to present their replacements.
Last month, NASA announced the adjacent unit would motorboat successful a utilized capsule instead, pushing up liftoff to March 12. The 2 crews volition walk astir a week unneurotic aboard the abstraction presumption earlier Wilmore and Williams depart with NASA’s Nick Hague and the Russian Space Agency’s Alexander Gorbunov.
Wilmore and Williams — retired Navy captains and repetition abstraction fliers — person insisted implicit the months that they are steadfast and committed to the ngo arsenic agelong arsenic it takes. They took a spacewalk unneurotic successful January.
They volition deterioration generic SpaceX formation suits for the thrust back, not the accustomed custom-made outfits bearing their names due to the fact that their travel location successful a Dragon capsule was unplanned. That's good with them, though Wilmore hinted helium mightiness usage a pen to constitute his sanction connected his suit.
“We’re conscionable Butch and Suni," Williams said. “Everybody knows who we are by now."
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