March 19, 2025e-Paper Orbiting in space no more, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday (March 18 hitching a different ride home to close out a saga that began with a bungled test flight more than nine months ago SpaceX crew Dragon splashdown LIVE Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico in the early evening just hours after departing the International Space Station Splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle bringing their unplanned odyssey to an end waving and smiling at the cameras while being hustled away in reclining stretchers for routine medical checks It all started with a flawed Boeing test flight last spring The two expected to be gone just a week or so after launching on Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule on June 5 So many problems cropped up on the way to the space station that NASA eventually sent Starliner back empty and transferred the test pilots to SpaceX Then SpaceX capsule issues added another month’s delay Sunday’s arrival of their relief crew meant Mr given the iffy weather forecast later this week They checked out with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov who arrived in their own SpaceX capsule last fall with two empty seats reserved for the Starliner duo Williams ended up spending 286 days in space — 278 days longer than anticipated when they launched They circled Earth 4,576 times and travelled 121 million miles (195 million kilometers) by the time of splashdown welcome home,” radioed SpaceX Mission Control in California “I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear.” Dolphins circled the capsule as divers readied it for hoisting onto the recovery ship the side hatch was opened and the astronauts were helped out Williams’ plight captured the world’s attention giving new meaning to the phrase “stuck at work” and turning “Butch and Suni” into household names While other astronauts had logged longer spaceflights over the decades none had to deal with so much uncertainty or see the length of their mission expand by so much Williams quickly transitioned from guests to full-fledged station crew members fixing equipment and even spacewalking together Williams set a record: the most time spent spacewalking over a career among female astronauts Both had lived on the orbiting lab before and knew the ropes and brushed up on their station training before rocketing away Williams became the station’s commander three months into their stay and held the post until earlier this month Their mission took an unexpected twist in late January when President Donald Trump asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to accelerate the astronauts’ return and blamed the delay on the Biden administration The replacement crew’s brand new SpaceX capsule still wasn’t ready to fly hurrying things along by at least a few weeks Williams continued to maintain an even keel at public appearances from orbit casting no blame and insisting they supported NASA’s decisions from the start NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing after the shuttle program ended companies for transporting astronauts to and from the space station until it’s abandoned in 2030 and steered to a fiery reentry it will have been up there more than three decades; the plan is to replace it with privately run stations so NASA can focus on moon and Mars expeditions Williams stressed they didn’t mind spending more time in space — a prolonged deployment reminiscent of their military days But they acknowledged it was tough on their families missed most of his younger daughter’s senior year of high school; his older daughter is in college had to settle for internet calls from space to her husband “We have not been worried about her because she has been in good spirits,” said Falguni Pandya “She was definitely ready to come home.” Prayers for Williams and Wilmore were offered up at 21 Hindu temples in the U.S president of World Hindu Council of America Williams has spoken frequently about her Indian and Slovenian heritage Prayers for their safe return also came from Wilmore’s Baptist church in Houston Trump in January signed an executive order renaming the body of water Gulf of America — Mr Williams will have to wait until they’re off the SpaceX recovery ship and flown to Houston before reuniting with their loved ones The three NASA astronauts will be checked out by flight surgeons as they adjust to gravity Terms & conditions  |  Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments We have migrated to a new commenting platform If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in you may continue to engage with our articles If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle As it flew up toward the International Space Station last summer the Starliner spacecraft lost four thrusters Wilmore lost the ability to move the spacecraft in the direction he wanted to go Starliner had flown to within a stone's throw of the space station the failure of so many thrusters violated the mission's flight rules they were supposed to turn around and come back to Earth Approaching the station was deemed too risky for Wilmore and Williams as well as for the astronauts on the $100 billion space station "I don't know that we can come back to Earth at that point," Wilmore said in an interview for the first time since they returned to Earth on a Crew Dragon vehicle two weeks ago Wilmore and Williams participated in a news conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston 10-minute interviews with reporters from around the world Many of the questions concerned the politically messy end of the mission, in which the Trump White House claimed it had rescued the astronauts after they were stranded by the Biden administration. This was not true but it is also not a question that active astronauts are going to answer They have too much respect for the agency and the White House that appoints its leadership They are trained not to speak out of school So when Ars met with Wilmore at the end of the day—it was his final interview scheduled for 4:55 to 5:05 pm in a small studio at Johnson Space Center—politics was not on the menu the heretofore untold story of what it was really like to fly Starliner the problems with the spacecraft's propulsion system precipitated all the other events—the decision to fly Starliner home without crew and their recent return in March after nine months in space I have known Wilmore a bit for more than a decade I was privileged to see his launch on a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan in 2014 with daughters who are seniors in high school Wilmore felt comfortable sharing his experiences and anxieties from the flight We blew through the 10-minute interview slot and ended up talking for nearly half an hour Boeing's Starliner spacecraft faced multiple delays before the vehicle's first crewed mission carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5 These included a faulty valve on the Atlas V rocket's upper stage and then a helium leak inside Boeing's Starliner spacecraft stood the mission down long enough that Wilmore asked to fly back to Houston for additional time in a flight simulator to keep his skills fresh the Starliner Crew Flight Test took off from Cape Canaveral It marked the first human launch on the Atlas V rocket which had a new Centaur upper stage with two engines this is going just perfectly.' So the ride to space and the orbit insertion burn And during the launch on Shuttle STS-129 many years ago there's the similar type of deviations that you see in this trajectory It was much different than what I'd expected or experienced in the past After Starliner separated from the Atlas V rocket Williams and Wilmore performed several maneuvering tests and put the vehicle through its paces Starliner performed exceptionally well during these initial tests on day one Wilmore: "The precision, the ability to control to the exact point that I wanted, was great. There was very little, almost imperceptible cross-control. I've never given a handling qualities rating of "one," which was part of a measurement system To take a qualitative test and make a quantitative assessment the crew attempted to sleep for several hours ahead of their all-important approach and docking with the International Space Station on the flight's second day which would stress Starliner's handling capabilities as well as its navigation system would come as it approached the orbiting laboratory Williams: "The night that we spent there in the spacecraft We had traded off some of our clothes to bring up some equipment up to the space station It might just be because there were two people in there." Starliner was designed to fly four people to the International Space Station for six-month stays in orbit Wilmore estimated that it was about 50° Fahrenheit in the cabin I was just going to bungee myself to the bulkhead Wilmore decided to get up and start working to get his blood pumping He reviewed the flight plan and knew it was going to be a big day Wilmore had been concerned about the performance of the vehicle's reaction control system thrusters Around the perimeter of Starliner's service module there are four "doghouses" equally spaced around the vehicle Each of these doghouses contains seven small thrusters for maneuvering. In each doghouse, two thrusters are aft-facing, two are forward-facing, and three are in different radial directions (see an image of a doghouse, with the cover removed, here) There had been some problems with their performance during an uncrewed flight test to the space station in May 2022 and Wilmore had been concerned those issues might crop up again Wilmore: "Before the flight we had a meeting with a lot of the senior Boeing executives and Security division.] Naveed asked me what is my biggest concern And I said the thrusters and the valves because we'd had failures on the OFT missions (Starliner's service module is jettisoned before the crew capsule returns from orbit) So you're just looking at data and engineering judgment to say it must've been FOD,' (foreign object debris) or whatever the various issues they had And I said that's what concerns me the most we could be in a situation where we're in space and can't control it.' That's what I was thinking they use two imaginary lines to help guide their approach which is a line connecting the space station to the center of Earth which is the velocity vector of the space station as Starliner neared the V-bar about 260 meters (850 feet) from the space station Wilmore had to take manual control of the vehicle So now we're single fault tolerance for the loss of 6DOF control Here things get a little more complicated if you've never piloted anything the six different movements possible in three-dimensional space: forward/back With Starliner's four doghouses and their various thrusters a pilot is able to control the spacecraft's movement across these six degrees of freedom But as Starliner got to within a few hundred meters of the station The condition of being "single fault" tolerant means that the vehicle could sustain just one more thruster failure before being at risk of losing full control of Starliner's movement This would necessitate a mandatory abort of the docking attempt we're supposed to leave the space station.' Because I know the flight rules I did not know that the flight directors were already in discussions about waiving the flight rule because we've lost two thrusters the two companies providing transportation services for NASA got to decide who would fly their spacecraft SpaceX chose to operate its Dragon vehicles out of a control center at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne Boeing chose to contract with NASA's Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston to fly Starliner the vehicle is under the purview of a Flight Director named Ed Van Cise This was the capstone mission of his 15-year career as a NASA flight director heroes put their tank on and they run into a fiery building and pull people out of it Heroes also sit in their cubicle for decades studying their systems And when there is no time to assess a situation and go and talk to people and ask 'What do you think?' they know their system so well they come up with a plan on the fly And there are several of them in Mission Control." as Starliner approached the space station last June By following NASA's webcast of the docking it was clear there were some thruster issues and that Wilmore had to take manual control But we did not know that in the final minutes before docking NASA waived the flight rules about loss of thrusters the drama was only beginning at this point And I'm picturing these thrusters that we're losing But if you lose thrusters in off-orthogonal We're already past the point where we were supposed to leave and now we're zero-fault tolerant and I'm manual control Wilmore: "And this is the part I'm sure you haven't heard Let's pull the rudder there.' And it's going to maintain balanced flight Wilmore could not fully control Starliner any longer But simply abandoning the docking attempt was not a palatable solution Just as the thrusters were needed to control the vehicle during the docking process they were also necessary to position Starliner for its deorbit burn and reentry to Earth's atmosphere So Wilmore had to contemplate whether it was riskier to approach the space station or try to fly back to Earth Williams was worrying about the same thing Williams: "There was a lot of unsaid communication this is a very precarious situation we're in.' I think both of us overwhelmingly felt like it would be really nice to dock to that space station that's right in front of us We knew that they [Mission Control] were working really hard to be able to keep communication with us what if we lose communication with the ground So NORDO Con Ops (this means flying a vehicle without a radio) but we already had synced in our mind that we should go to the space station This is our place that we need to probably go to to have a conversation because we don't know exactly what is happening Wilmore: "I don't know that we can come back to Earth at that point So we're not exactly level with the station It's going to make you move away from the station in addition to holding his position relative to the space station was keeping Starliner's nose pointed directly at the orbital laboratory Williams: "Starliner is based on a vision system that looks at the space station and uses the space station as a frame of reference So if we had started to fall off and lose that which there's a plus or minus that we can have; we didn't lose the station ever I think both of us were getting a bit nervous then because the system would've automatically aborted us." After Starliner lost four of its 28 reaction control system thrusters Van Cise and this team in Houston decided the best chance for success was resetting the failed thrusters a fancy way of turning off your computer and rebooting it to try to fix the problem But it meant Wilmore had to go hands-off from Starliner's controls You're drifting away from the space station The station is your only real lifeline because if you lose the ability to dock the chance of coming back in one piece is quite low And now you're being told to take your hands off the controls I have lived rendezvous orbital dynamics going back decades [Wilmore is one of only two active NASA astronauts who has experience piloting the space shuttle.] Ray Bigonesse is our rendezvous officer we worked to develop this manual rendezvous capability over the years I'm coming off shift at 5:30 Saturday morning; will you meet me in the sim?' So we'd meet on Saturdays We never got to the point of saying lose four thrusters All of this training meant Wilmore felt like he was in the best position to fly Starliner and he did not relish the thought of giving up control when he thought the spacecraft was temporarily stable enough flight controllers sent a signal to override Starliner's flight computer and fire the thrusters that had been turned off Two of the four thrusters came back online Wilmore: "Now we're back to single-fault tolerant What if we'd have lost that fifth jet while those other four were still down I attribute to the providence of the Lord getting those two jets back before that fifth one failed So we're down to zero-fault tolerant again Not only was the control different on the visual Mission Control decided that it wanted to try to recover the failed thrusters again After Wilmore took his hands off the controls this process recovered all but one of them When asked to give up control of the vehicle for its final approach to the station Wilmore said he was apprehensive about doing so He was concerned that if the system went into automation mode it may not have been possible to get it back in manual mode he wanted to make sure he could take control of Starliner again 'If we get in a situation where I got to give it back to auto we're only down one.' All this is going through my mind in real time just because I love being in space and am happy to be on the space station and [with] great friends up there just really happy that Starliner docked to the space station let's just take a breather and try to understand what happened.'" "There are really great people on our team were all working hard to try to understand to try to decide what we might need to do to get us to come back in that spacecraft we also knew it was going to take a little while Everything in this business takes a little while because you want to cross the T's and dot the I's and make sure I think the decision at the end of the summer was the right decision We didn't have all the T's crossed; we didn't have all the I's dotted So do we take that risk where we don't need to?" Wilmore added that he felt pretty confident in the aftermath of docking to the space station that Starliner probably would not be their ride home And one of the first phone calls I made was to Vincent LaCourt who was one of the ones that made the call about waiving the flight rule but if some catastrophic space station emergency occurred while Wilmore and Williams were in orbit Should they retreat to Starliner for an emergency departure or cram into one of the other vehicles on station for which they did not have seats or spacesuits LaCourt said they should use Starliner as a safe haven for the time being Therein followed a long series of meetings and discussions about Starliner's suitability for flying crew back to Earth NASA and Boeing expressed confidence in Starliner's safe return with crew but it would've been really tough to get there NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore reflected on their time away from Earth after spending nine months in space due to their delayed mission "My first thought was we've just got to pivot," Williams said in an interview with Fox News' America’s Newsroom that aired March 31 of learning about their delay "If our spacecraft was going to go home based on decisions made here and we were going to be up there 'til February 'Let's make the best of it.'" Williams noted she was "excited" when it came to spending in even more in space than initially planned "I'm honored,” she explained of the mission he noted that he realized quickly that the mission was bigger than him put any personal feelings or worries aside what does our nation need out of me right now?” he shared “That's going back to when we're in the fleet and we're operating from the pointy end of the spear Wilmore—whose teen daughter Daryn Wilmore also shared insight amid his journey—added “Did I think about not being there for my daughter's high school year But we've trained them to be resilient Wilmore explained that his experience has taught him that despite the mission being originally set for just a few days there’s ultimately no “given” when it comes a world beyond Earth "We don't know what's going to happen," he continued "We might not be back in eight days or whatever the plan was but I can't let that interfere with what I'm called to do at the moment." There's things that I did not ask that I should have asked I didn't know at the time that I needed to ask them in hindsight some of the signals were there Everybody has a piece in this…There were some shortcomings in tests and shortcomings in preparations that we did not foresee." Keep reading for a look back at their trip… Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore launched into space on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft June 5, 2024, with plans to stay at the International Space Station for eight days. Shortly after their launch, the astronauts reported a “stable and isolated leak” in their propulsion-related plumbing While the leak remained stable throughout their travel to the ISS four more leaks emerged and five thrusters—devices used for acceleration—failed with the understanding that their mission would likely last longer than eight days NASA came forward with the debacle of the two astronauts stuck in space the space organization was still trying to determine whether the Starliner would be fit for a return to space and Boeing maintained at the time it should have been we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return.” Meanwhile, former NASA official Scott Hubbard quelled public concern over Wilmore and Williams’ predicament, telling the Associated Press the astronauts—who have each been to space before on prior missions—are only “kind of stuck,” emphasizing that they have “plenty of supplies and work to do.” After NASA confirmed that Williams and Wilmore would return to Earth on a SpaceX mission in February or March rather than attempting to fix the Starliner Wilmore’s wife Deanna Wilmore told WVLT in August of her family’s predicament “You just sort of have to roll with it and expect the unexpected." Williams’ husband Michael shared that he didn’t think his wife would be unsettled by spending more time in space Just before celebrating six months in space Williams and Wilmore shared insight into their Thanksgiving celebrations aboard the ISS “We have a bunch of food that we’ve packed away that is Thanksgiving-ish,” Wiliams told NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt from the ISS on Nov green beans and mushrooms and mashed potatoes.” Williams also reiterated that she and Wilmore were doing just fine amid their extended stay in space After the astronauts celebrated six months in space, NASA confirmed they would be staying even longer than previously thought. Although the organization had originally planned for the duo to return in February, delays in the SpaceX mission that would retrieve them led their stay to be extended to March or April, NASA said at the time In February, President Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that Williams and Wilmore had been “virtually abandoned” in space amid their eight-day-turned-eight-month journey. However, following the headline-making comment, the astronauts pushed back on the president’s claim “We don't feel abandoned,” Wilmore insisted to CNN’s Anderson Cooper in a Feb Williams interjected during the interview that the pair were “doing pretty darn good we have great crew members up here,” she continued it was a little bit longer stay than we had expected but both of us have trained to live and work on the International Space Station and I think we've made the most of it.” Wilmore and Williams also confirmed they’d be returning to Earth when SpaceX launches its Dragon capsule March 12 rendezvous and dock," Wilmore explained “We'll do a turnover for about a week and we will return on or about the 19th of March.” Just days before her father was set to return Wilmore’s daughter Daryn Wilmore spoke out on her father’s time in space—and how she felt about the delays in his return to Earth “It’s a bit mentally exhausting,” she told the Daily Mail in a March 6 interview And that's the reason why this has just kept getting delayed There's just been issue after issue after issue.” Daryn expressed that her father was “bummed,” but otherwise doing well on the ISS After their extended nine-month stay in space Wilmore and Williams safely returned to Earth on March 18 After splashing down off the coast of Florida alongside fellow NASA crew member Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were wheeled off the space capsule on stretchers—standard protocol for returning space travelers as they typically can’t walk right away upon their return “A lot of them don't want to be brought out on a stretcher,” former NASA senior scientist John DeWitt told Live Science As for how the astronauts will spend their first few days back on Earth Wilmore's daughter Daryn gave some insight “He's going to spend the next few days going in [for] tests,” she said in a March 18 TikTok video “Lots of medical stuff because they're still technically part of the experiment of human space flight And just get re-acclimated to gravity and the routine back here on Earth because it's been very different than these past 9 months.” After the astronauts landed back on Earth following eight extra months in space NASA addressed whether they'd get paid any overtime "When NASA astronauts are aboard the International Space Station, they receive regular, 40-hour work-week salaries,” NASA told People in a statement “They do not receive overtime or holiday/weekend pay.” As for what a regular 40-hour work-week salary looks like for an astronaut It clocks in at anywhere between $84,365 to $152,258 according to the federal government's GS-11 to GS-14 pay scale daughter Daryn shared her reaction to finally being reunited with her dad "I'm making him his favorite dessert, which is pecan pie,” the college student said in a TikTok “I actually have a list that's all his favorite things and things that we used to do together to hopefully do them these next few days that he's here before I go back to school or in the coming months that he's back.” Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams’ story markedly at odds with abandonment narrative painted by Trump and Musk In the end, whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump liked to insist astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams were never stuck The world heard on Monday, for the first time since their return to Earth two weeks ago, from the two Nasa astronauts whose 10-day flight to the international space station (ISS) last summer turned into a nine-month odyssey And their story was markedly at odds with the narrative painted from the White House Wilmore and Williams were speaking to reporters at a press conference in Houston, hours after a joint appearance on Fox News and reaffirmed that they never felt neglected or in need of the rescue the president insisted was necessary they calmly assumed duties as members of the space station crew – “planning for one thing Wilmore said – while a political firestorm over their status raged back on the ground If anything, the pair of veteran space flyers appeared slightly bemused by, or largely ignorant of the furore that followed their enforced and protracted stay on the orbiting outpost 250 miles above Earth, caused by technical failures on board their pioneering Boeing Starliner spacecraft that returned in September without them. Read moreAt the press conference Nasa had called to discuss the science activities the astronauts performed during their time in space Williams and Wilmore gave diplomatic answers to questions designed to elicit their thoughts before reverting to a carefully worded explanation of how their training and preparations allowed them to pivot seamlessly from the roles of new spacecraft test pilots to routine ISS crew members who splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on 18 March on a routine crew rotation flight “The plan went way off for what we had planned we prepare for any number of contingencies You never know where it’s going to go,” he continued Earlier, in the Fox interview, he pushed back on Musk’s false claim, amplified by Trump that the astronauts were “abandoned in space by the Biden administration” they’re very broad in their definition,” Wilmore said we didn’t get to come home the way we planned was reluctant to kick the political football her focus was solely on the work she needed to do “You sort of get maybe a little bit tunnel-visioned … you do your job type of thing and so you’re not really aware of what else is going on down there,” she said “I hate to say that maybe the world doesn’t revolve around us But I think we were just really focused on what we were doing and trying to be part of the team The third US astronaut at the press conference who returned to Earth with Williams and Wilmore they don’t make it up there when we’re trying to make operational decisions,” he said “As the commander [I’m] responsible for the safety of this crew and getting them back safely.” Musk, the founder of SpaceX, a key Nasa contractor, has continued to push the story, with no evidence that the astronauts were effectively held hostage in space by Biden for political advantage It was a SpaceX Dragon capsule that eventually brought them back to Earth but it was a spacecraft that had been attached to the ISS for months not one Trump said he directed Musk to “go get the two brave astronauts” The billionaire became embroiled in a heated online dispute with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen over the claims both retired astronauts and the former now Democratic senator for Arizona whose future is questionable as Boeing and Nasa engineers continue to evaluate the helium leaks and thruster control issues that brought its maiden crewed mission to a premature end both Williams and Wilmore said they would be happy to fly on it again said there were questions he wished he’d asked during the flight that he believed might have brought a different outcome The astronauts will meet Boeing leadership on Wednesday to give first-hand testimony was a learning curve familiar to those in “the difficult job we all take part in” ‘Let’s make the future even more productive and better’ And what I think the way the nation should look at.” a SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday delivering the replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 13 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore make pizza aboard the International Space Station’s galley located inside the Unity module on Sept Items are attached to the galley using tape and velcro to keep them from flying away in the microgravity environment NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are greeted by the crew of the International Space Station upon their arrival on Thursday and Butch Wilmore stand together for a photo enroute to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 Wednesday for their liftoff on a Boeing Starliner capsule to the International Space Station right and Suni Williams wait for liftoff inside a Boeing Starliner capsule at Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral for a trip to the International Space Station Boeing’s Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket lifts off from the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station the Boeing Starliner spacecraft with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard approaches the International Space Station on Thursday and Butch Wilmore work outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk This photo provided by NASA shows Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft which launched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on July 3 seen from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the adjacent port Here’s a look at “Suni and Butch” and their drama-filled mission: The two test pilots came to NASA via the Navy played high school and college football in his home state of Tennessee before joining the Navy Wilmore racked up 663 aircraft carrier landings while Williams served in combat helicopter squadrons NASA picked Williams as an astronaut in 1998 followed by Wilmore in 2000 Each had two spaceflights behind them including monthslong stints at the space station before signing up as Starliner’s first crew While they accepted their repeated homecoming delays they noted it was much harder on their families Wilmore’s wife Deanna has held down the fort Their oldest daughter is in college and their youngest in her last year of high school has been caring for their two Labrador retrievers can’t wait to get back to face-to-face ministering and smelling fresh-cut grass Wilmore kept in touch with members of his congregation over the months taking part in occasional prayer services and calling ailing members via the space station’s internet phone Williams looks forward to long walks with her dogs and an ocean swim Several other astronauts have spent even longer in space so no special precautions should be needed for these two once they’re back we teach them don’t think about when you’re coming home Think about how well your mission’s going and if you’re lucky you might get to stay longer,” NASA’s space operations mission chief and former astronaut Ken Bowersox said last week Wilmore and Williams found themselves in the middle of a political storm when President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced at the end of January they would accelerate the astronauts’ return and blamed the Biden Administration on keeping them up there too long NASA officials stood by their decision to wait for the next scheduled SpaceX flight to bring them home But their replacements got held up back on Earth because of battery work on their brand new SpaceX capsule SpaceX switched capsules to speed things up moving up their return by a couple of weeks The two left the space station in the capsule that’s been up there since last fall; Williams blew kisses to the seven station residents staying behind “It’s great to see how much people care about our astronauts,” Bowersox said Astronauts almost always fly back in the same spacecraft they launched in Wilmore and Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner and transferred to SpaceX’s Dragon for the ride back Their first flights were aboard NASA’s space shuttle Both the Starliner and Dragon are completely autonomous but capable of manual command if necessary The Dragon had fellow astronaut Nick Hague in command; he launched in it last September with a Russian and two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams Starliner almost didn’t make it to the space station helium leaked and thrusters malfunctioned on the way to the orbiting lab NASA and Boeing spent the summer trying to figure out what went wrong and whether the problems would repeat on the flight back NASA ultimately decided it was too risky and ordered the capsule back empty in September Engineers are still investigating the thruster breakdowns and it’s unclear when Starliner will fly again — with astronauts or just cargo NASA went into its commercial crew program wanting two competing U.S companies for taxi service for redundancy’s sake and stand by that choice The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content Juliet Road for astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore Juliet High School graduate and city native Barry Wilmore Way is designated between Lebanon Road and a future Sprouts store under construction across from Mt according to a social media post by the city Wilmore, who now lives in Texas to be close to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, returned to Earth in March after more than nine months on the International Space Station. The astronaut still has family in Middle Tennessee and has commented on how he considers the state home Wilmore presented a Tennessee flag to the General Assembly in Nashville after it flew during the entirety of the astronaut’s extended stay in space “Any town would love to have someone with his level of accomplishments,” Mt Wilmore's mission with astronaut Sunita Williams was a test flight with the pair serving as the first human crew for the Boeing Starliner spacecraft The mission was initially estimated for one-to-two weeks technical problems with the spacecraft resulted in a stay of 286 days in space for Wilmore and Williams Wilmore is now a veteran of three spaceflights and has accumulated a total of 464 days in space Wilmore also went to Tennessee Tech University and played football Juliet also plans to honor Wilmore at 11 a.m. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com and on X This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page on April 11 as she prepares to go to the prom Texas (BP) – Barry Wilmore attended his first elders meeting in nearly a year at Providence Baptist Church on April 10 Wilmore, known by many as “Butch,” had an unexpected extended stay at the International Space Station after the Boeing Starliner carrying himself and fellow astronaut Suni Williams developed issues docking with the ISS Their plight and return home last month became worldwide news In speaking with media outlet after media outlet Wilmore’s faith also received an astronomical stage it’s nothing more than a matter of obedience “If you’re a true believer, you’re directed by a Holy God who draws us to His Word and teaches us,” said Wilmore, who had joined fellow Providence member Tracy Dyson aboard the ISS “My experience may not be common to people But perseverance and knowing God is in control is really the focus for every situation in life.” Wilmore experienced that 250 miles above the earth and his faith helped him deal with intense all-encompassing,” Wilmore told Baptist Press “If you are born again as part of the redeemed “We have to deal with life as it comes at us There are parallels to his experiences in space and as an elder lessons for anyone claiming to follow Christ “The battles are not won in the battle alone They are won in preparation,” Wilmore told BP Decades of practice and training go into the systems jet structures and innumerable other aspects of space missions Things don’t work together the way they should That is when the thousands of hours in a simulator – like Wilmore accumulated often early on Saturday mornings – come into play You don’t only sharpen a knife right before you need it and the time an engineer spends examining data in his or her office becomes a matter of life or death “I’ve had enough experiences that prove it time and again.” There is a correlation with church leadership such as the elders’ meetings at Providence They last as long as necessary and are scheduled for the last Thursday of the month who is in the process of transitioning out as pastor after founding the church 25 years ago His successor is the other staff member among the elder group He’ll poke and prod where others don’t,” he said “He definitely brings another level of intensity with his background “Barry is always thinking through things and developing a plan Wilmore said being back with his fellow elders last Thursday was “rich” and “wonderful.” primarily about shepherding the flock,” he said “We talked about how people get into situations over which they have no control Wilmore’s brother and dad helped him do some foundation work recently – pulling out some shrubs and painting the front and back porch to get ready for his daughter’s high school graduation party He missed volleyball season but was thankful to see her off to the prom last Friday night “I should’ve gotten a haircut,” he groused about pictures with her Now with 464 total days in space over three missions “The world needs Jesus; it needs biblical truth then when things happen failure is imminent “We had a mantra when I was selected as an astronaut – ‘Know everything and perform it well.’ It’s the goal to be perfect Wilmore viewed livestreamed services from Providence as well as Grace Baptist Church in his hometown of Mt where he is friends with Pastor Alan Herd and where Wilmore’s childhood best friend is an elder Dahn remembers Wilmore coming to the church 17 years ago an obviously intelligent guy who was humble enough to tell them “he didn’t know what he didn’t know.” Many know him as one of those astronauts who was stuck in space a guy who is very involved in others’ lives Wilmore was preparing for what was supposed to be a nine-day trip to the ISS He was also spending time with a senior adult in his final days not only watching Providence’s worship services with him at times but also handling his business matters to the end “He looks for needs and works to meet them Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press © 2025 Southern Baptist Convention. Site by Mere Earth welcomes back astronauts after being stranded in space nine months after the malfunction of the Boeing Starliner Thousands watched (including me) on their departure from the International Space Station (ISS) and splashdown in Florida earlier this evening Butch Wilmore seems to be going viral for his unashamed proclamation of Jesus as his Lord and Savior Question: We’re all the product of our life experiences and this extended business trip certainly qualifies What is your life lesson or your takeaway from these 9 months in space an answer to your question and I can tell you honestly My feeling on all of this goes back to my faith it’s bound in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ he is working out his plan and his purposes for his glory throughout all of humanity and how that plays into our lives is significant and important and however that plays out I am content because I understand that I understand that He’s at work in all things somethings are for the good go to Hebrews 11 some things look to us to be not so good but it all works out for his good for those that will believe This actually reminded me of a clip that didn’t go viral on Christian media outlets back in December when he stated this after they all said what they were thankful for We should pray for a quick recovery for him as he is conditioned back to being on earth Submissions: https://rapzilla.com/submit/ Copyright © 2025 Rapzilla.com | All Rights Reserved NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on Earth after spending more than nine months in orbit on the International Space Station splashing down off the coast of Florida on Tuesday evening The duration of their time in space was unexpectedly long after launching on June 5 with the mission to stay on the ISS for nearly a week Due to issues with the Boeing Starliner flight to the space station NASA's chief health and medical officer had to push back against tabloid rumors that the astronauts' health was deteriorating But their prolonged mission is not the first time astronaut crews have spent a longer duration in space than planned Both Wilmore and Williams transitioned to "long-duration" status early in the mission so they could access the station's crew health care system A "comprehensive reconditioning process" is also in place for the astronauts Here is a look at what the recovery process will look like for Wilmore and Williams as well as for other astronauts coming back from a stint in space After Wilmore and Williams' capsule landed post-mission recovery and medical teams met the astronauts and transported them to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston they will undergo "a progressive 45-day post-mission recovery program," NASA says the crew will have medical and performance testing participate in studies and follow a "structured reconditioning program." They'll spend two hours every day with trainers working on a personalized recovery plan to work back toward the fitness levels they had before they left on their mission most crew members' physiological systems recover within this timeframe," according to the agency he was not allowed to drive for a week to avoid the possibility of passing out or falling over while behind the wheel And at one point while still getting adjusted to being back on Earth I had to go to the bathroom and I just started pushing off my back thinking 'I'm going to float to the bathroom.' And the light was out and I'm pushing up and I roll out of bed," he says Dr. Natacha Chough, a NASA flight surgeon and assistant professor in the aerospace medicine division at the University of Texas Medical Branch She says one of the first illnesses she looks for in astronauts upon return is motion sickness "Your inner ear kind of shuts off more or less in weightlessness," Chough tells NPR "So when you reintroduce that sense of gravity Within the inner ear is the vestibular system which is made up of sensory organs that help with one's sense of balance making it difficult to determine which way is up or down Melvin says he had to walk in a certain way while he recovered "You're walking in a straight line and then you start doing a curve You start turning and your vestibular system is all whacked out and you can just fall over," Melvin tells NPR And then you walk straight and then you turn." And while astronauts get medical attention from flight surgeons once they return from space it takes a village to support crews even before the mission ends There are teams who create a nutrition plan for astronauts before their mission physicians who monitor their health while on the ISS and those who help them readjust to family life and others who all work together during various phases of the mission to optimize crew health and safety," Chough says Being in space also carries several health hazards An environment with little gravity can also weaken the bones "We definitely track muscle mass and bone mineral density preflight and postflight because weightlessness is what I refer to as a 'use it or lose it' environment," Dr "If you're not regularly exercising in flight your body is not going to expend the energy to preserve your muscles and bones." astronauts aboard the ISS do two and a half hours of daily strength and cardio training This also helps minimize bone and muscle loss who was also an athlete and NFL player before becoming an astronaut says he lifted free weights to help prepare for spaceflight and worked out while on the ISS The impacts of being in space, especially for long periods of time, on the body are still being studied. During a study conducted on astronaut twins Mark and Scott Kelly researchers found that while Scott was on the ISS Chronic weightlessness can also cause bodily fluids like blood to rise up toward one's head leading to swelling in the brain and flattening of the back of the eye – both contributing to what is known as "spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome." Some astronauts who develop this condition have mild changes and in others it can cause "significant outcomes," according to NASA And the long-term outcome from the changes is unknown Astronauts do the work they do to find out what the risks of spaceflight are He says he feels healthier now that he has been to space because he has "a newfound perspective on what it means to be a human being." "I went around the planet every 90 minutes Become an NPR sponsor (AP) — NASA’s celebrity astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Monday that they hold themselves partly responsible for what went wrong on their space sprint-turned-marathon and would fly on Boeing’s Starliner again SpaceX recently ferried the duo home after more than nine months at the International Space Station filling in for Boeing that returned to Earth without them last year In their first news conference since coming home the pair said they were taken aback by all the interest and insisted they were only doing their job and putting the mission ahead of themselves and even their families WATCH: NASA astronauts who spent 9 months in space make splashdown in return to Earth Wilmore didn’t shy from accepting some of the blame for Boeing’s bungled test flight “I’ll start and point the finger and I’ll blame me I could have asked some questions and the answers to those questions could have turned the tide,” he told reporters Both astronauts said they would strap into Starliner again “Because we’re going to rectify all the issues that we encountered We’re going to make it work,” Wilmore said adding he’d go back up “in a heartbeat.” Williams noted that Starliner has “a lot of capability” and she wants to see it succeed The two will meet with Boeing leadership on Wednesday to provide a rundown on the flight and its problems The longtime astronauts and retired Navy captains ended up spending 286 days in space — 278 days more than planned when they blasted off on Boeing’s first astronaut flight on June 5 The test pilots had to intervene in order for the Starliner capsule to reach the space station WATCH: Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore on their longer-than-expected stay in space Their space station stay kept getting extended as engineers debated how to proceed NASA finally judged Starliner too dangerous to bring Wilmore and Williams back and transferred them to SpaceX But the launch of their replacements got stalled stretching their mission beyond nine months President Donald Trump urged SpaceX’s Elon Musk to hurry things up adding politics to the stuck astronauts’ ordeal The dragged-out drama finally ended March 18 with a flawless splashdown by SpaceX off the Florida Panhandle NASA said engineers still do not understand why Starliner’s thrusters malfunctioned; more tests are planned through the summer If engineers can figure out the thruster and leak issues “Starliner is ready to go,” Wilmore said The space agency may require another test flight — with cargo — before allowing astronauts to climb aboard NASA officials said they stand behind the decision made years ago to have two competing U.S companies providing taxi service to and from the space station But time is running out: The space station is set to be abandoned in five years and replaced in orbit by privately operated labs © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins the market will include vendors from all over the Jessamine County area.  The market traditionally starts on the first week of May and runs until the last Saturday of October It will be located in the parking lot adjacent to the train tracks on East Main Street in Wilmore The market will be selling a wide variety of products everything from fruits and vegetables to meats and baked goods Soaps and handcrafted items are also available.  The market also promotes local organizations and events from Wilmore and the surrounding area.  This Saturday also signals the opening of the weekly flower market and Wilmore’s Railside Museum Those interested in being a vendor or in getting more information may contact Tim Vetters at (859) 221-9024 or Diane Vetters at (859) 421-3239 Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Home News Highlights Spotlights NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth after 9 months stuck in space Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico in the early evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station It all started with a flawed Boeing test flight last spring The two expected to be gone just a week or so after launching on Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule on June 5 Sunday’s arrival of their relief crew meant Wilmore and Williams could finally leave Wilmore and Williams ended up spending 286 days in space — 278 days longer than anticipated when they launched They circled Earth 4,576 times and traveled 121 million miles (195 million kilometers) by the time of splashdown “I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear.” Dolphins circled the capsule as divers readied it for hoisting onto the recovery ship followed by Wilmore who gave two gloved thumbs-up Wilmore and Williams’ plight captured the world’s attention Wilmore and Williams quickly transitioned from guests to full-fledged station crew members NASA’s Joel Montalbano said the space agency was already looking at various options when Trump made his call to hurry the astronauts home Wilmore and Williams continued to maintain an even keel at public appearances from orbit and I couldn’t be prouder of our team’s versatility our team’s ability to adapt and really build for the future of human spaceflight,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said With Starliner still under engineering investigation SpaceX will launch the next crew for NASA as soon as July Stich said NASA will have until summer to decide whether the crew after that one will be flown by SpaceX or Boeing — or whether Boeing will have to prove itself by flying cargo before people again Wilmore and Williams stressed they didn’t mind spending more time in space — a prolonged deployment reminiscent of their military days Prayers for Williams and Wilmore were offered up at 21 Hindu temples in the U.S danced and celebrated in a temple and performed rituals during the homecoming After returning in the gulf — Trump in January signed an executive order renaming the body of water Gulf of America — Wilmore and Williams will have to wait until they’re off the SpaceX recovery ship and flown to Houston before reuniting with their loved ones and should be allowed to go home after a day or two AP journalist Deepa Bharath contributed to this report Discover the best of AP content in every format Explore diverse topics through our world-class journalism When Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft malfunctioned astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore became long-term residents on the space station—and the focus of some political malarkey Williams’s and Wilmore’s planned eight-day visit to the station turned into nine months white spacesuits designed by SpaceX and strapped themselves into seats in a SpaceX Dragon capsule attached to one of the station’s docking ports NASA leaders expected Boeing to be its lead vendor in commercial space operations Elon Musk’s SpaceX—then considered a rookie startup in the space business—quickly became the agency’s indispensable partner in delivering crews and cargo to the space station.  But that uneventful flight did little to quell doubts about the spacecraft’s (or Boeing’s) future.  that is no accident; the company consulted with Hollywood costume designer Jose Fernandez who created suits for the silver-screen versions of characters like Wonder Woman and Wolverine.) The ability to design and deploy new technologies quickly is a key factor setting SpaceX apart from legacy aerospace companies (The Boeing suits are not compatible with the Dragon capsule That meant Williams and Wilmore would have to wait for properly fitted SpaceX suits to be delivered before they could even consider a return on the SpaceX ship.) Boeing’s halting pace designing its spacesuit was more than matched by the company’s tortured progress building the Starliner vehicle itself which is one of the lead contractors on the project For the moment, spaceflight advocates—not to mention NASA insiders—are on tenterhooks waiting to learn which programs the White House will target. For example, the Mars Society, an outside space advocacy group, recently expressed outrage over reported plans to enact a 50 percent cut in NASA’s budget for unmanned science missions including the Hubble Space Telescope and Mars Curiosity Rover The group described the potential cuts as a “brutal attempt to wreck American space science.” The exchange suggested that SpaceX was about to launch a daring emergency mission to rescue Williams and Wilmore from their sad abandonment in space NASA’s plan for bringing the astronauts home had been in place for months The ISS always has at least one SpaceX Dragon capsule attached to serve as a lifeboat in case of an emergency NASA could have opted to use that capsule to bring back the astronauts but first it would need to launch another Dragon to take over that lifeboat function NASA decided to integrate Williams and Wilmore into the regular ISS crew and then fly them home as part of a scheduled crew rotation That required altering the station’s crew rotation plan a bit: a new four-member team—Crew-9—was slated to arrive at the ISS in September; NASA bumped two astronauts from that team in order to allow Williams and Wilmore to fill those positions and take those two seats on the return flight That meant that the two Starliner astronauts would stay aboard the ISS for the full six-month duration of the Crew-9 mission and then fly home with their new teammates And nothing has changed since.” The president might not know this the idea of spending nine months in space sounds like a terrible hardship Astronauts spend their entire careers training—and hoping—for an opportunity to fly Others are lucky to get to space once or twice while the extended absence from their families was likely bittersweet Williams and Wilmore seem to have embraced their ISS experience (Williams now has the distinction of having spent more hours conducting spacewalks than any other female astronaut in history.) As Nyberg explained the only astronauts I feel bad for are the two who had to be removed from Crew-9 to accommodate Butch and Suni’s return and now have to wait for their chance to live and work on the ISS!” Williams and Wilmore are now back with their families with major decisions about the future of NASA looming the political drama surrounding the American space program is likely just beginning James B. Meigs is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the former editor of Popular Mechanics Top Photo: NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams (Photo by MIGUEL J City Journal is a publication of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (MI) Are you interested in supporting the magazine donations in support of MI and City Journal are fully tax-deductible as provided by law (EIN #13-2912529) Copyright © 2025 Manhattan Institute for Policy Research it was a homecoming nine months in the making "My God given family and my church family." Wilmore returned home after what was supposed to be an eight-day mission turned into a 286-day stay aboard the International Space Station due to technical complications—a true test of endurance and faith leaned on his faith throughout the extended mission He described his spiritual connection as "vital to existence," emphasizing that God's sovereignty sustained him during the unexpected journey Wilmore led church devotionals and even joined fellow astronauts in singing "Amazing Grace" with members of his home congregation "The chance to share the gospel and proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord is the driver," he said Wilmore opened the hatch when SpaceX docked with the space station he remained cautiously optimistic that everything would go as planned 'I'm not getting excited until it happens,'" he recalled Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams splashed down safely "I was ready to get out and get moving," he said NASA is compensating Wilmore and Williams for their extended mission—at a rate of five dollars a day When asked about potential additional compensation promised by President Donald Trump Wilmore responded with his signature humor Wilmore is undergoing 45 days of rehabilitation to readjust to gravity seeing the experience as part of God's greater plan and I believe it because I've lived it—God is always good." ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***  You are signing up to receive general newsletters from CBN. By signing up, you are consenting to our privacy policy You can specify preference after sign-up and opt out at any time A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization For NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore the long wait to return to Earth is almost over They went to the International Space Station last June in a Boeing Starliner spacecraft but because of problems with the Starliner they’ve stayed at the station for over 250 days Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy They went up to the International Space Station last June in a Boeing Starliner spacecraft and were supposed to return about a week later But because of problems with the Starliner they have stayed at the space station for over 250 days and are now set to return on a SpaceX capsule next month along with their crewmate Nick Hague earlier today welcome to the "NewsHour." Thank you so much for joining us It's just absolutely our pleasure to be here on the "PBS NewsHour" with you because I know a lot of people are interested you were only supposed to be up there about a week or so You have now been up in space about 250 days You have probably heard in the conversation back here on Earth some people saying you are stuck up there other people saying that you were abandoned up there so maybe people could conceive that that's the way we are We're part of an International Space Station crew and we just happened to be the second part the second two on the crew that was — that came up here Nick came up here with one other gentleman and it's usually four of us up here for an increment And so Butch and I extended to go along with that increment because those spacecraft rotate every six months or so So nothing is really for — as Butch put it before It's about our obligation to our international partners and fulfilling the world-class science that we're doing up here on the International Space Station but presumably you would pack differently for seven days than you would for 10 months do you have and have you had what you need up there in the way of clothes and toiletries and so on We brought up some extra gear that needed — the space station needed We were only going to be here a week or so The space station program plans for multiple contingencies We stockpile food to last four months beyond what is expected for humans to live in space since the year 2000 And that is just a normal part of the process You arrived at the space station in September Was part of your mission to bring some of those additional supplies for Commander Williams and Captain Wilmore And tell us a little bit about the work that you have been doing aboard the space station as well we did bring up some essential supplies that we needed immediately But we have had cargo vehicle — one cargo vehicle show up in between and we're doing some really serious scientific research We're working on material science research We're trying to figure out how to prevent and treat diseases on the ground And we're also trying to figure out how to grow food so we can go to Mars someday you have now broken the record for total space walking time by a woman astronaut so a total of 62 hours and six minutes outside the ship in space did you know that you broke that record when it happened you're pretty intense on what's going on outside I knew that I had a lot of space walks as I came into this mission I didn't really know the hours or really pay attention to it that much It's sort of just happenstance in time and place But I know Peggy Whitson really well and respect her a whole lot and to actually surpass her in anything is just amazing So that's a pretty awesome honor to have that I once asked an astronaut to describe for me as best as he could what it felt like to leave the space station So you see nothing but space when you basically flip and head out of the space station into space but also the biggest thrill that you could ever imagine There's no way to put it into words adequately And one of the things that makes it special is that there's nobody else in the entire universe doing what you're doing And that — that's a unique experience That's — there's a couple of adjectives for you I'm going to assume that keeping a pretty regular routine is key to life up in the space station Does every day kind of start the same way for you We — and it's a chance to eat breakfast and have some coffee and check some e-mail But then the workday starts at 7:30 in the morning And then it goes until 7:30 in the evening What we do on any given day just depends on what the team on the ground has planned and worked out that we're going to be able to do A big chunk of that is taking care of ourselves to make sure that we don't suffer the negative effects of living in weightlessness And so we spend 2.5 hours a day every day working out lifting weights Suni — Suni has been bulking up for the return trip so she can withstand gravity when we get down to the ground You have mentioned you are able to occasionally speak with your families back home who I know are making such a big sacrifice with all of you up there especially for as long as you have been there What do you talk about when you get that chance We talk about all the normal things that a dad talks to his sons about basketball practice and what he's working on I have got a son that's getting ready to head off to college next year Where are you going to go and have you heard back from the places you have applied All the normal things that you would talk about I talk to my oldest daughter about things that interest her She's in the theater program at a university in Texas you talk to your daughter's boyfriend from space That has to be the most intimidating thing for a boyfriend the contributions that you all are making through this work is — they're absolutely immeasurable what's the message you want people to take away from this chance that they're getting to hear directly from you while you're there in space Your human spaceflight program is here for you That's what my message would be to all the folks back there We are committed to what we — what our responsibilities are what — our international partners and all When you — when we float over the window — and we spend a lot of time in the window looking down at the Earth — for me the Earth looks — starts to look pretty small when you look at the backdrop of the rest of the universe behind it just like the human spaceflight program relies on everybody working together across the globe to make this magic happen up here we rely on each other on the ground every day Everyone out there depends on other people thank you so very much for taking the time to speak with us An absolute treat and such an honor to speak with those astronauts Amna Nawaz serves as co-anchor and co-managing editor of PBS News Hour Azhar Merchant is Associate Producer for National Affairs NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore's teenage daughter Daryn Wilmore said it's "mentally exhausting" to have her dad be stuck in space since June 2024 Barry "Butch" Wilmore's family is definitely feeling the space between Butch and his fellow NASA astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams have been stranded on the International Space Station since June due to equipment issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft extending what was to be an eight-day mission indefinitely And nearly nine months after his initial scheduled return date his teenage daughter Daryn Wilmore has spoken out about the ordeal "There's a lot of things that I'm not at liberty to say, and that I don't know fully about," she shared in a February TikTok There's just been issue after issue after issue." And while Butch and Suni are projected to return back to earth this spring Daryn understands that "things could always change." "We've had so many changes," she continued "and it's a bit mentally exhausting." “It's been hard if we're completely honest.” Indeed, there have been several hiccups in bringing Butch and Suni home. The two were scheduled leave the ISS in February, but their departure has since been pushed back due to a delay in launching their replacements Butch and Suni were also not permitted to fly back on the SpaceX Crew-8 craft—which successfully touched down in October—since all the seats were taken by astronauts who had been at the ISS since March 2024 Daryn said her father is keeping his chin up amid the delays NASA has shared how it’s been making efforts to ensure a safe return for Butch and Suni part of the reasons why their return has been postponed is due to safety according to the agency's chief of astronaut office NASA administrator Bill Nelson “Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine," he said in a December statement, after Butch and Suni's Boeing Starliner was returned to earth uncrewed "The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star." "That's been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck—and I get it," he told CNN in February not what our human spaceflight program is about." NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts take their first spacewalk together US astronaut Suni Williams works outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk work outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk This image made from a NASA live stream shows NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore during a press conference from the International Space Station on Friday After some initial trouble unbolting the balky antenna the astronauts finally pried it off nearly four hours after popping out the hatch Mission Control urged them to watch for any floating parts from the antenna removal During the job 260 miles (420 kilometers) up Williams set a new spacewalking record for female astronauts That won’t happen until late March or early April extending their mission to 10 months because of a SpaceX delay in launching their replacements Williams set a new record for women: the most time spent spacewalking over a career Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson held the old record of 60 hours and 21 minutes SocietyCommentary Health CareNews PoliticsAnalysis  SecurityNews  InternationalNews  SocietyCommentary  EducationCommentary   SecurityAnalysis  EconomyCommentary  InternationalCommentary  PoliticsNews  LawNews  LawCommentary  International News International News International Commentary Education Analysis  SecurityAnalysis  PoliticsAnalysis  Economy Commentary SocietyNews NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore laugh while answering questions during NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 post-flight news conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston After an unexpected nine-month stay in space the pair of NASA astronauts finally returned to Earth on March 18 concluding a mission that captured global attention and became a political flashpoint Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore is revealing more about how his Christian faith strengthened him while spending 286 days on the International Space Station—278 days longer than originally planned Wilmore also recently shared just how close he and fellow astronaut Suni Williams came to being stranded aboard a malfunctioning Boeing Starliner capsule During an expansive interview earlier this week, Wilmore reflected for the first time on how harrowing he and Williams’s initial journey to the space station was last summer As their Boeing Starliner capsule headed toward the International Space Station after a successful launch the vehicle inexplicably lost power to four separate thrusters leaving Wilmore unable to adequately control it The two astronauts found themselves floating virtually helpless in the void of space not sure whether they should either attempt to abort the mission and return to Earth or attempt to dock to the space station NASA’s mission control eventually instructed Wilmore to relinquish all control of the capsule so they could attempt a remote reset of the thrusters as it would mean the capsule would be floating in space completely uncontrolled the remote reset was able to restore power to two of the four failed thrusters but that’s when yet another thruster failed “What if we’d have lost that fifth jet while those other four were still down I have no idea what would’ve happened,” Wilmore observed “I attribute to the providence of the Lord getting those two jets back before that fifth one failed.” At that point, Wilmore was finally able to acquire enough control of the capsule to maneuver it to the docking station at the International Space Station. But due to the multitude of problems with the Starliner’s thrusters, Wilmore knew their trip home was in jeopardy “I don’t know that we can come back to Earth at that point,” he recalled Wilmore and Williams eventually made the decision not to attempt a return flight to Earth in the faulty Starliner and their original eight-day mission turned into a nine-month ordeal before a trip home could be arranged aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on March 18 Through it all, Wilmore said in an interview with CBN News on Monday that his Christian faith was “vital” to him enduring being marooned in space for so long along with the prayers that his home church Wilmore was even able to lead church devotionals and sing gospel songs like “Amazing Grace” with fellow astronauts as well as church members “The chance to share the gospel and proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord is the driver,” he explained As Wilmore went on to share, what was particularly crucial for him during the monthslong stretch in space was the ability to view church services while in orbit “My pastors are the finest pastors on or off And to worship with my church family was vital I also tied into Grace Baptist Church in Mount Juliet A buddy of mine is an elder there and a pastor there and I would watch their service as well every single week It was part of what I need as a believer in Jesus Christ to continue that focus It’s not like [having] fellowship up close As for gaining perspective on the unexpected trial Wilmore was unequivocal about the importance of surrendering to divine providence but my plans are not usually the good plans or the right plans Originally published by The Washington Stand the two astronauts who launched on Boeing Starliner’s first crewed test flight and have remained on the space station months longer than expected about living in space and what it will be like to finally return back to Earth '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" Texas – This Sunday's service at Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena It was a celebration—one of their own had finally come home After spending nine months stranded in space astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore reunited with his wife that he's safely here," said Pastor Tommy Dahn Wilmore has been resting following last week's 17-hour return journey to Earth alongside fellow astronaut Suni Williams During his 286 days aboard the International Space Station "My feeling on all of this goes back to my faith," Wilmore said "It's bound in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ His purposes for His glory throughout all humanity." ***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you receive the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***    Pastor Dahn emphasized that Wilmore's faith was not just a temporary source of strength during his time in space "It wasn't just a faith that he drummed up for nine months," Dahn said Wilmore also found encouragement in the prayers and messages from his church family "He watched every Sunday," said Pastor Corey Johnson having the Word of God to read—like that—the Lord's the one that sustained him through it all." Wilmore stayed connected with his congregation while in orbit He frequently called church members from space and even led devotionals sometimes joining in song with fellow astronauts "We sang together with all the astronauts on the space station," Dahn said "We sang 'Amazing Grace,' and Barry shared the devotion with the whole congregation." the church watched intently as Wilmore splashed down on Earth "He came out and then he saw Barry," Johnson recalled 'I was standing up because we are made for the Earth.'" Wilmore is undergoing 45 days of rehabilitation to adjust to gravity—no easy task for someone who prefers to stay busy "It's going to take a while," Johnson said One thing Wilmore is enjoying again is home-cooked meals "We might just have a get-together with a few close friends but no big party or anything," said his daughter "I am making him his favorite dessert—pecan pie." Wilmore is eager to share stories of his faith and God's sovereignty from his time in space "I understand that He is at work in all things," Wilmore said "Some things are for the good—go to Hebrews Chapter 11 but it's all working out for His good for those that will believe."  You are signing up to receive general newsletters from CBN. By signing up, you are consenting to our privacy policy. You can specify preference after sign-up and opt out at any time. © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. The pair waved and smiled as they emerged from the SpaceX Dragon which splashed down off the coast of Florida A pod of dolphins inspected Suni and Butch's capsule as it bobbed in the ocean Suni and Butch left Earth in June 2024 for an eight-day mission to test Boeing Starliner's capsule so Nasa decided to keep them on the ISS and return the Starliner to Earth empty It was a fast and fiery re-entry through the Earth's atmosphere for the Space X capsule - science editor Rebecca Morelle explains how it works Watch: Dolphins surround Dragon capsule after successful splashdown Edited by Brandon Livesay and Christal Hayes Nasa and SpaceX are nearly finished with a news conference after the successful splashdown off the coast of Florida of SpaceX Crew-9 which brought Butch and Suni back home after nine unplanned months in space The pair did not attend the news conference but Nasa officials said they are doing well it would take some time to get used to gravity again and the two were being medically evaluated before being reunited with their families Butch and Suni waved and smiled as they emerged from the SpaceX Dragon which splashed down off the coast of Florida - surrounded by curious dolphins We are pausing today's live coverage, but you can read more about all the events today and Butch and Suni's time in space here Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNasa says Boeing is working to get Starliner back in flight after malfunction left crew in space for monthspublished at 00:04 Greenwich Mean Time 19 March00:04 GMT 19 MarchSteve Stich the manager of Nasa’s Commercial Crew program It comes after the company's Starliner spacecraft malfunctioned and resulted in the two astronauts staying in space for months longer than intended “We’re super grateful for Boeing and their investment,” he said adding that the issue highlights the need to have at least two vehicles in orbit He also said that Boeing is celebrating Suni and Butch's return with a watch party “They’re keenly interested in the landing today and are watching Butch and Suni come back,” he said He added that Nasa is “working hand in hand with Boeing as well on certification of Starliner Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'The crew is doing great'published at 23:46 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March23:46 GMT 18 March"The crew is doing great," says Steve Stich the manager of Nasa's Commercial Crew Program He says that they'll spend "some time" on the recovery ship before making their way back to Houston He goes on to praise his team for their "versatility" and thanks SpaceX saying they were quick to adapt to Nasa's needs they'll be able to reunite with their families - typically after about a day He added they do a de-brief on their time in space and will have some time off Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingDuo did 900 hours of research during their space stintpublished at 23:42 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March23:42 GMT 18 MarchJoel Montalbano deputy associate administrator of Nasa's Space Operations Mission Directorate says that Suni and Butch did 150 experiments and 900 hours of research during their stint on the ISS Montalbano says the work that Nasa astronauts do "benefits the nation" and increases the chance that Nasa will hit its goal of landing a person on Mars by the end of the decade Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingWatch: Nasa holds news conference after splashdownpublished at 23:41 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March23:41 GMT 18 MarchImage source NASANasa has started to give an update after the successful splashdown of SpaceX Crew-9 off the coast of Florida You can click watch live at the top of this page to follow along says the missions sometimes seem easier than they are but there was a lot that went into this mission Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThe mission shows that space is far from easypublished at 23:27 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March23:27 GMT 18 MarchRebecca MorelleScience editor Butch and Suni’s epic mission really does show us that space is hard it can mean making some really tough decisions Opting to extend a mission from eight days to nine months was far from ideal for Nasa But Butch and Suni’s response - to adapt to a new situation and throw themselves into life on the space station - is part of being what an astronaut is all about To have a plan - and be prepared to change it Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingMore pictures of jubilant astronautspublished at 23:16 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March23:16 GMT 18 MarchImage source here's the look on the faces of Suni and Butch as they first emerged from the capsule Protocol dictates that they are assisted out of the craft because of the shock of leaving the zero gravity environment of space Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNews conference coming up shortlypublished at 23:09 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March23:09 GMT 18 MarchA "Return-to-Earth" news conference is set to begin in about 20 minutes But it doesn't seem like Suni or Butch will be there in person themselves Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThe return in picturespublished at 23:04 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March23:04 GMT 18 MarchIt was only a few hours ago that Butch and Suni said goodbye to the crew of the International Space Station and boarded the SpaceX craft to bring them home after more than eight months The first major moment was when the parachutes deployed slowing the capsule down from more than 17,000mph before splashdown As recovery crews prepared to receive the astronauts dolphins were seen swimming around their capsule The capsule was then brought onboard the ship where it was rinsed off with fresh water before it was opened Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingButch and Suni wave as they finally depart the spacecraftpublished at 22:55 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:55 GMT 18 MarchBreakingImage source The Nasa astronaut duo now known affectionally as Butch and Suni have just left the capsule returning to Earth after a whopping 286 days in space followed by Butch were the last two travellers to leave they were all smiles and waved repeatedly to the camera Butch smiled and flashed thumbs up as he was helped off the capsule Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCrew-9 commander Nick Hague first to depart vesselpublished at 22:50 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:50 GMT 18 MarchImage source NASACommander of Crew 9 Nick Hague is the first astronaut to leave the Dragon capsule Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCrew waves to camerapublished at 22:49 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:49 GMT 18 MarchThe crew are starting to leave the capsule a camera filming the scene briefly poked into the ship We'll bring you images of them leaving the capsule in just a minute Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingHere they arepublished at 22:47 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:47 GMT 18 MarchBreakingAfter spending about 17 hours hurtling through space in a tiny spacecraft the astronauts are finally touching solid ground (well They are coming out of the capsule hatch now Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThe side hatch is openpublished at 22:40 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:40 GMT 18 MarchThe side hatch is now open on the Dragon capsule and we are waiting for the first astronaut to pop out This will be their first breath of fresh air in a long time You can watch it all live at the top of this page Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'A big gulp of air'published at 22:34 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:34 GMT 18 MarchRebecca MorelleScience editor The amazing images that have been coming back really do show what the final moments are like for Butch and Suni and when that hatch is finally opened they will be taking a big gulp of air the first fresh air for more than nine months Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCapsule lifted from the waterpublished at 22:29 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:29 GMT 18 MarchThe capsule has now been lifted out of the ocean and has been brought on board the recovery ship The name of the recovery vessel is Megan - named for Nasa astronaut Megan McArthur The ship's crew is now rinsing off the ship Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingDolphins surround Dragon capsulepublished at 22:28 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:28 GMT 18 MarchThis video can not be played While we wait for the moment that Suni and Butch leave the Dragon capsule a pod of inquisitive dolphins can be seen swimming around the vessel Nasa commentators joke they're an "honorary part of the recovery team" Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingSafety team puts harness on capsulepublished at 22:23 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:23 GMT 18 MarchImage source NASAA member of the safety team has attached some harnesses to the capsule Those ropes will be used to pull the capsule to the safety vessel And a reminder you can watch this all happen live at the top of this page Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'You can breathe a sigh of relief': Tim Peakepublished at 22:21 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:21 GMT 18 March"It looked like an amazing re-entry and an amazing splashdown as well and thankfully as well it looks like the sea state is not too bad," British astronaut Tim Peake tells BBC News "These are four friends of mine so for us as astronauts the moment you see four healthy main parachutes then that is the moment you can breathe a sigh of relief because the splashdown is inevitable after that." "That’s the moment where you can kind of think 'Great they are home safely' and there is a very emotional feeling." Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNasa spokeswoman describes 'optimal conditions'published at 22:20 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March22:20 GMT 18 MarchJaden Jennings is describing the scene from aboard the recovery vessel as it prepares to receive the astronauts "Splashdown was spectacular," she says explaining that the ship she is on was stationed about 1.5 nautical miles away from the impact site She said she could spot "a little bit of a smoke trail" coming from the plummeting capsule before its parachutes deployed "We've had optimal conditions for splashdown," she says NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore’s daughter Daryn Wilmore shared an update on how her father has been adjusting to Earth since returning from a nearly 300-day unexpected stint in space Barry “Butch” Wilmore is safe and sound at home with his family After returning from an extended nine-month stay in space alongside Sunita “Suni” Williams the NASA astronaut’s daughter Daryn Wilmore shared an update on how he’s been adapting to being back on Earth “He’s been adjusting to gravity well,” the 19-year-old captioned a March 24 TikTok post “and I feel so blessed for these past few days that we’ve been able to spend as a family.” Noting that her family decided not to record their reunion in hopes of keeping the heartwarming moment just between them Daryn did include a few photos of the group making up for lost time with the widest smiles on their faces After all, it was nearly 300 days before his return that Butch and Suni launched into space aboard the Starliner spacecraft for what was supposed to be an eight-day stay. However, following various technical issues, the Boeing spacecraft was sent back down, leaving the two in space for a bit longer than they had anticipated both astronauts emphasized that they never felt “abandoned” or stranded.” And while the astronauts maintained a positive spirit Daryn found the massive attention and conflicting narratives surrounding her father’s journey online to be difficult to get used to “I hate how all this has been so overly in the public eye and the amount of misinformation that has been spread,” she expressed in her post “Seeing my dad’s (and my) face everywhere has been so strange and sometimes the stories have gone overboard as people say things they do not fully understand or have never done any research on.” Even so, upon his long-awaited return, she shared a glimpse into what Butch’s first few days back on Earth looked like “He's going to spend the next few days going in [for] tests,” Daryn said in a March 18 TikTok video because it's been very different than these past nine months.” the college student did everything she could to make sure her father felt loved and welcomed after spending so much time apart For more on Butch and Suni’s time in space Tennessee-native Barry “Butch” Wilmore presented a Tennessee flag to the General Assembly in Nashville that flew during the entirety of the astronaut’s recent extended stay in space Juliet High School and Tennessee Tech University graduate was honored by legislators at the House floor session on April 16 who now lives in Texas to be close to the Johnson Space Center in Houston returned to Earth in March after more than nine months on the International Space Station told lawmakers after the resolution to honor the astronaut was read Wilmore also told lawmakers as he presented the flag: “It was the only state flag that flew the whole time The mission with fellow astronaut Sunita Williams was a test flight as the first human crew for the Boeing Starliner spacecraft Initial estimates were for a one- or two-week duration NASA contracted with Boeing to develop a second spacecraft system capable of travel to the ISS in part to have another option if one isn’t operational technical problems with the spacecraft resulted in the extended stay for Wilmore and Williams as the Starliner returned to Earth without a crew for safety concerns Wilmore and Williams spent a total of 286 days in space A resolution read during the session at the Capitol notes that Wilmore "did not waver despite the difficulties inherent in this mission inspiring the country and the world through his strength and preparedness in the face of unthinkable challenges.” Wilmore's perseverance without complaint through the mission was also recognized “Captain Wilmore represents the best of Tennessee said in his introduction to the legislators and brother Jack still live in Middle Tennessee “Barry loves Tennessee and (is) very humbled to be recognized,” Jack Wilmore said Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More Barry “Butch” Wilmore and pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams would both go back on Starliner again once the issues — like helium leaks — have been resolved they told Spectrum News during a press conference on Monday afternoon The duo took to the stage along with fellow Crew-9 member Nick Hague to give a post-flight news conference about the Crew-9 mission Wilmore and Williams were originally Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts as they tested out Boeing’s experimental Starliner capsule last year The NASA astronauts took off from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in June 2024 for what was supposed to be an eightish-day mission to the International Space Station but a combination of helium leaks and thruster issues prolonged their stay from days to months their Starliner ride called Calypso was deemed unsafe by NASA and returned to Earth without Williams and Wilmore Trump posted on social media that he asked Musk to “go get” Wilmore and Williams who many considered “stranded” on the International Space Station NASA already had a plan to bring them home as Spectrum News was the first to confirm that the U.S space agency was considering the use of a SpaceX Dragon capsule for their ride home The pair became members of the Crew-9 and came back home on Tuesday with Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov Scroll down to see the timeline of the Starliner saga both Williams and Wilmore answered that they would go up on Starliner again when they were asked by Spectrum News because we are going to rectify all the issues that we encountered I would get on it in a heartbeat,” Wilmore said There were a couple of things that need to be fixed and it has a lot of capability that other spacecraft that don’t have To see that thing successful and to be a part of that program is an honor,” Williams said With all the issues that Starliner experienced Wilmore said that if there is blame to go around — either NASA or Boeing — he said he should share in some of that “But I will start and point the finger and blame me The answers to those questions could have turned the tide,” he said And while he says that both Boeing and NASA should accept responsibility for the troubles Starliner experience Wilmore said that he believes that God had a reason for Starliner not being a successful mission The trio were asked about their thoughts on how political the Starliner mission became like when Trump stated in February that the “the Biden administration left them (Williams and Wilmore) there so long” Wilmore said that Hague had an interesting insight on the matter Your focus is strictly on the mission,” explained Hague such as missing out on family gatherings and what foods they enjoyed eating once they returned they also talked about some of their work on the International Space Station Hague said that the Crew-9 mission conducted 150 experiments with some of them looking at how the human body handles life in space such as measuring the stiffness of the arteries Juliet High and Tennessee Tech graduate Barry "Butch" Wilmore returned to Earth Tuesday after 286 days in space bringing joy and relief to his father and brother who still reside in Tennessee Wilmore and fellow crew member Sunita Williams docked at the International Space Station on June 6 for a short mission But that stretched to nine months because of technical problems with the Boeing Starliner that ferried them on a test mission initially estimated for 1 to 2 weeks The pair finally splashed down off the Florida coast with three other astronauts Tuesday “I am thankful beyond words that he is back on Earth safely,” Barry Wilmore’s father Eugene Wilmore said “Nine months is a long time to be away from family and friends but he has always been one to make the best of any situation.” Wilmore will now take part in a 45-day post-mission recovery program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to readapt to Earth's gravity The program will include medical and performance testing An evidence-based recovery plan tailored for each crew member will follow Astronauts typically spend the first night at the space center when they return from an extended stay in space Astronauts then go through the recovery program “We are so excited to have Barry back,” the astronaut’s brother Jack Wilmore “It’s been a long stretch and seeing him splash down was incredible and an answer to our prayers “I’m really proud of him and everything he has accomplished I can’t wait to hear all about it and have him home with us again.” Wilmore and Williams returned with SpaceX Crew 9 members Nick Hague and Russian Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov in a SpaceX Dragon that brought the next astronauts rotating on the space station The lengthy stay for Wilmore and Williams received attention from President Donald Trump earlier this year The president posted a social media request to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to get Wilmore and Williams back to Earth The return trip was mildly accelerated from earlier estimates of a late March return The flight was the Boeing Starliner’s first mission with crew members The Starliner's problems included a helium leak and eventually led to the spacecraft’s return to Earth without Wilmore and Williams due to safety concerns Wilmore and Williams remained on the ISS and joined in on tasks with astronauts already there Wilmore’s stay included his fifth spacewalk Wilmore now has 464 cumulative days logged in space Williams advanced to 608 total days in space which places her second among NASA astronauts Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham was in contact with Wilmore throughout the mission and released a statement that included: Barry has shown the world the strength and tenacity that our campus has witnessed up close over many years His faith sustained him through unexpected challenges and brought him to this moment He has made all of us at his alma mater enormously proud," Oldham said.“With this historic mission Barry has not only further cemented his place in the history of Tennessee Tech Juliet held a brief wreath placement ceremony and moment of silence at the corner of Lebanon and North Mt Juliet roads where there is a tribute display for Wilmore to honor and pray for the astronaut Monday before his scheduled return This story has been updated to add a gallery NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams and Nick Hague are set to answer questions Monday about their Crew-9 mission after a long stay aboard the International Space Station You can watch the post-flight news conference, which is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT Monday, at the embedded video at the top of this page or on USA TODAY's YouTube page Wilmore and Williams were forced to stay at the ISS longer than anticipated due to issues with the Boeing Starliner vehicle that took them to space Hauge later joined them at the ISS aboard the Crew-9 mission According to NASA the three astronauts will answer questions about their time in space where they conducted over 900 hours of research including the study of plant growth and development and stem cell technology to "improve patient outcomes on Earth," according to the space administration Wilmore and Williams returned from their third trip to the ISS a few weeks ago on a SpaceX Dragon capsule alongside Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Roscosmos Gorbunov will not participate in the news conference because of his travel schedule NASA launched the Crew-9 mission in September with just two astronauts instead of four in order to free up two seats for Wilmore and Williams upon that mission's conclusion space agency opted to send the troubled Starliner back to Earth without its crew leaving Wilmore and Williams in need of a ride home − and extending their stay in space for several months longer than anticipated Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com NASA's Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore are home after being stranded in space for nine months Find out what went wrong in the astronauts' mission and what's next for them NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore blasted off into space for what was supposed to be an eight-day stay at the International Space Station However, the Boeing Starliner capsule they rode on for its first crewed test flight experienced thruster failures and helium leaks following takeoff. And while they were able to dock safely, the game plan surrounding their return to Earth suddenly shifted Upon their splashdown in the Gulf of America March 18, Suni, 59, and Butch, 62—as well as fellow astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—were carried out of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on stretchers and sent to Houston to undergo health checks for several days "It’s work. It’s wonderful enjoyment. It’s fun. It’s been trying at times, no doubt," Butch said on the March 14 episode of New York Times podcast The Daily five days before he and Suni would return to Earth "This is not an easy business that we’re taking part in Human spaceflight is tough and sometimes you run into situations that are unexpected and we found ourself in one." During their time aboard the orbiting space station conducting scientific experiments and maintenance tasks alongside several U.S And they made the most of their prolonged stay you get a little bit more time to enjoy the view out the window," said Suni "You get a little more time to adapt to space You get a little more time to actually talk to people on the ground." A pod of dolphins emerged and swam playfully around their spacecraft Read on for more about Suni and Butch's space journey.. Two NASA astronauts who've been on the International Space Station since last summer after their weeklong assignment turned into a nine-month saga are back on Earth A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed down off the Gulf coast of Florida shortly before 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The spacecraft had undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m The pair returned home alongside fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov a Boeing spacecraft launched with Williams and Wilmore on board for what was anticipated to be an eight-day mission but problems with the aerospace company's capsule meant that the pair were left on the ISS and ultimately incorporated into the space station's regular crew Tuesday's splashdown capped a lengthy space odyssey for Williams and Wilmore whose troubled voyage became mired in politics and raised questions about Boeing's ability to carry out missions for NASA On June 5, Williams and Wilmore rocketed into the cosmos aboard the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft The flight was part of NASA's commercial crew program which contracts with private companies to ferry astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station the other company hired through the program has been successfully flying missions for NASA for years The early summer launch was Starliner's first trip with a human crew on board but not before encountering a number of issues including multiple helium leaks and the malfunctioning of some of its thrusters rather than risk flying Williams and Wilmore back on a questionable craft they would return the beleaguered Starliner to Earth without a crew That meant leaving Williams and Wilmore behind on the ISS where they would be incorporated into the space station's regular crew rotation until their replacements arrived months later That occurred early Sunday morning, when two NASA astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut who had docked on the ISS floated through a hatch to greet their colleagues Williams' and Wilmore's expedition — which spanned two presidential administrations — has been caught up in politics Shortly after taking office in January, President Trump said he asked his close political adviser and SpaceX founder Elon Musk to "go get" Williams and Wilmore whom Trump said had been "virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration." In fact, the astronauts' ride back to Earth had been docked on the ISS since September The SpaceX Dragon capsule that flew the pair home on Tuesday arrived at the space station in the fall with two empty seats for the duo's return trip NASA said it had decided to integrate Williams and Wilmore into the space station crew for technical and budgetary reasons and during their time on the station the pair has been conducting experiments and spacewalks Musk said in February that he had made an offer to the Biden administration "months ago" for SpaceX to bring the astronauts home early but that the administration "refused" and delayed the pair's return for "political reasons." Two former NASA officials under the Biden administration including former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Trump, in a post on his social media site on Monday thanked NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro and space agency staff for coordinating Williams' and Wilmore's return and accused the Biden administration of being "incapable" of bringing the pair home Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore touched down on Earth March 18 after a nine-month stay in space but they didn’t get to experience the full effects of gravity right away Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore are getting reacquainted with gravity one step at a time In fact, the astronauts—who returned to Earth March 18 after an extended nine-month stay at the International Space Station—didn’t physically step off SpaceX Dragon capsule upon touchdown in Florida they were wheeled off the spacecraft on stretchers it’s actually standard NASA protocol for all returning space travelers as they typically can’t walk right away upon their return “A lot of them don't want to be brought out on a stretcher,” former NASA senior scientist John DeWitt told Live Science Earlier in the astronauts’ ISS stay—which was only meant to last eight days—Williams described the physical effects of living without gravity as she spoke to students at Needham High School in Massachusetts “I've been up here long enough right now I've been trying to remember what it's like to walk,” she told the students in January, per CBS affiliate WBZ-TV You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here.” Williams and Wilmore’s June 2024 mission was extended due to various technical issues with the pair’s Boeing Starliner, leading NASA to send the shuttle back to Earth without its crew While Williams described the extension as “a little bit of a shock,” the astronaut shared that she was still managing to stay close to her loved ones back home “I talk to my mom practically every day,” she explained during the student Q&A “Just check in with her and call her and see how she's doing So it's just a little bit different relationship than we had potentially planned on for the last couple of months For more on Suni Williams and Butch Willmore’s space journey As I watched the NASA astronauts splash down off-the-coast of Tallahassee Florida I wondered if Captain Barry “Butch” Wilmore ever played high school football starting on the offensive line and at linebacker He also played baseball and wrestled at the school located east of Nashville As a senior he was second team all-league offensive lineman He went on to play collegiately at Tennessee Tech He was a TT team captain and was inducted into the university’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 He currently holds the number two spot in Tech’s record books for most tackles in a game he was honored during a ceremony at the school 54 jersey which he took with him to space a month earlier when he piloted the space shuttle Atlantis At the time he was just the 508th person to travel in space he told those in attendance that he “traveled 17,500 miles per hour which is faster than a speeding bullet.” The school has retired Wilmore’s number To put that into high school football terms — Wilmore spent more than 41-weeks in space which is more than two high school football seasons the next time you hit the showers after practice remember there are no showers in outer space NASA's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams explain why they're willing to fly on the Starliner spacecraft despite issues that extended their stay in space by several months The astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, were supposed to spend about a week on the space station when they went up last June. But they remained on the ISS after the experimental Boeing capsule they took into orbit malfunctioned In the past month, President Trump and his close adviser Elon Musk have repeatedly claimed that the decision to leave Williams and Wilmore in space was politically motivated "Biden was embarrassed by what happened, and he said 'Leave them up there,'" Trump said during a press availability in the Oval Office on March 6 "Elon is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them." But some former astronauts and NASA officials have denied any political motives behind the extended stay of Williams and Wilmore Here's what to know about how they ended up on the station and why they're finally coming home now The SpaceX Dragon capsule heading to the station tonight is carrying the new crew for the station into orbit but it's not actually going to be the capsule that brings Williams and Wilmore home The capsule the duo will use to return to Earth has been attached to the space station since September of last year arrived carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and has two extra seats for Williams and Wilmore It could have also returned the astronauts at any point in the past six months or so "They had a SpaceX Dragon there as an emergency lifeboat to bring them back at any time they needed to," says former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly Instead of coming back immediately, Williams and Wilmore were fully integrated into the crew of Expedition 72 aboard the space station Williams became the station commander in September and both she and Wilmore have worked conducting experiments and spacewalks during their time there President Trump appears to have first made the claim that the astronauts were stranded for political reasons on Jan "I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to 'go get' the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration," the president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social "Terrible that the Biden administration has left them there so long," Musk posted the same day on his social media platform X The duo has elaborated on that claim several times since. Most notably during an interview with Sean Hannity in February: "They got left in space," Trump told Hannity they were left up there for political reasons After the interview, things quickly turned ugly on X when a former space station commander, Andreas Mogensen, called that claim "a lie." SpaceX could have brought them back several months ago I OFFERED THIS DIRECTLY to the Biden administration and they refused Return WAS pushed back for political reasons Musk called Mogenson an "idiot" and said he directly offered to return the astronauts earlier and was rebuffed by the Biden administration Former NASA officials have disputed that claim "I don't know who he spoke to," former NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy told Bloomberg in an interview "It wasn't [NASA administrator] Bill [Nelson] It wasn't our senior leadership at headquarters." "It certainly did not come to my attention," Nelson told the Washington Post "There was no discussion of that whatsoever Maybe he [Elon Musk] sent a message to some lower-level person." Current NASA officials have been less confrontational but they nevertheless cited multiple technical reasons for keeping Williams and Wilmore at the station "Our leadership at NASA was trying to make sure that we considered everything just at a technical level, and that's what we did," Ken Bowersox, NASA's associate administrator for space operations said during a press conference on Friday Bowersox and commercial crew program manager Steve Stitch cited cost and safety as the dominant reasons for keeping the two veteran astronauts aloft for longer than planned Bowersox said that sending up an extra capsule or returning a capsule early were "ruled out pretty quickly" due to budgetary concerns There were also technical issues caused by the decision to return the Boeing capsule Williams and Wilmore originally flew to space without them. When that capsule returned to Earth empty in August Williams and Wilmore lost their seats—literally Stitch says that it was important to have the custom-fitted seats aboard their spacecraft to ensure that the two astronauts were not injured during re-entry and landing New custom seats were installed on the Dragon capsule that arrived in September the best option was really the one that we are embarking upon now," Stitch said "Every day is interesting because we're up in space and it's a lot of fun," Suni Williams said during a press conference from the ISS on March 4 "The hardest part is having the folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we're coming back." Wilmore added that astronauts are well aware that any trip to space carries risks "The mission of the space station… is something that we deeply believe in," added Wilmore "It's that belief that allows us to take those risks." Long-duration missions can be psychologically tricky who spent 340 days aboard the space station he has no doubt that Williams and Wilmore have been able to handle it "I'm pretty sure they're not having too much of a problem with this." Astronaut Butch Wilmore didn’t let getting stuck in outer space keep him from worshipping God He regularly watched church services online during his unexpected nine-month stay on the International Space Station and he described the habit as “invigorating” during a Monday press conference the Word of God … I need it,” Wilmore said “To tie in and worship with my church family was vital "My pastors are the finest pastors on or off — in this case – the planet."When asked why it was important for him to continue to attend church services while he was aboard the ISS, NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore said it was "invigorating" and "part of what I need." pic.twitter.com/SEzgG7fKQs He’d also call his church friends from space and participate in devotional events, Christian Broadcasting Network reported Wilmore said on Monday that it was hard to feel close to his church community while on the space station but that his effort to maintain his relationship to his pastor and others paid off for him and his family even though it’s fellowship from afar,” he said Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams traveled to the International Space Station in June for what was supposed to be a nine or 10 day stay But issues with their Boeing capsule made a return trip impossible until another ship became available The astronauts were ultimately on the space station for about nine months at which point the SpaceX Dragon capsule brought them home Wilmore and Williams landed off the coast of Florida with two other astronauts on Tuesday, March 18, as the Deseret News reported at the time Wilmore and Williams returned to their normal routines; well at least the parts of their routines they could safely do as they received physical therapy to recover from their long stay in space Wilmore was able to attend a worship service in person at Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena and spoke about how his time in space shaped his faith “I understand that (God) is at work in all things,” Wilmore said, according to Christian Broadcasting Network “Some things are for the good — go to Hebrews Chapter 11 but it’s all working out for His good for those that will believe.” "My pastors are the finest pastors on or off — in this case – the planet."When asked why it was important for him to continue to attend church services while he was aboard the ISS, NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore said it was "invigorating" and "part of what I need." pic.twitter.com/SEzgG7fKQs Three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut are due to return home on a Crew Dragon spacecraft in a couple of weeks and Hague participated from orbit in a news conference with reporters What is notable about the news conference is that it marks the first time any NASA official—a handful of previously scheduled media availabilities have been canceled—has been on the record with media since the politicization of Crew 9's return and Musk's call to deorbit the space station early What follows are responses to some key questions during the press conference The answers have been lightly edited for clarity the answers themselves did not provide too much clarity Wilmore says "politics is not playing into this at all" in reference to his extended stay in space after the founder of SpaceX said he offered to bring NASA astronauts back in 2024 but that this option was rebuffed by the White House for political reasons For what it is worth, all of the reporting done by Ars over the last nine months suggests the decision to return Wilmore and Williams this spring was driven by technical reasons and NASA's needs on board the International Space Station How do you feel about waking up and finding yourself in a political storm respect and admiration for our president of the United States And there's an important reason why we have a political system and the specifics that they may not be privy to And I'm sure that they have some issues that they are dealing with Did politics influence NASA's decision for you to stay longer in space That's what your nation's human space flight program is all about and that's why we flowed right into Crew 9 And it was somewhat of a seamless transition Elon Musk suggested that it might be time to deorbit the International Space Station or is there valuable work still to be done in space we've been up here since sort of the beginning Butch and I had been part of the construction of the space station with the shuttle flights we've seen it grow from just a couple of modules to this amazing laboratory that it is right now I actually was extremely impressed coming up here and seeing how much science is going on particularly when we have the resupply missions that bring up a lot of science So I would say we're actually in our prime right now So I would think that right now is probably not the right time to say we have probably till 2030 in our agreements And I think that's probably really accurate because we should make the most of this space station for our taxpayers and for all of our international partners and hold our obligations and do that world-class science that this laboratory is capable of Q. Elon Musk said he made an offer to bring Butch and Suni home last year what was not offered; who it was offered to That's information that we simply don't have and I don't think any of us really can give you the answer that maybe that you would be hoping for Would you be happy to fly on Starliner in the future had our teams back home that were in meetings for three months then we would have been happy to return on Starliner Our roles are different in these spacecraft Suni and my roles are different on Dragon than what it was on Starliner We just feel fortunate and thankful though that we have seats and we'll be coming home riding the plasma splashing down in the ocean There have been some pretty big geopolitical shifts since you went up there What does it look like from your point of view Hague: Most of the time when I go over to the window that's when I start thinking about the Earth below me the time that I was here before six years ago and the thoughts that I eventually get to really haven't changed small orb that's in a pretty big black vastness of space but the world looks pretty small when it's in that perspective And as you fly from continent to continent you don't necessarily see all of those borders or the realization that I always come away with is we have far more in common than we have in different and those common things that we have bring us together those differences that we have are differences that we bring to teams like the International Space Station and those differences make the team stronger 2025 (()=>{var e=async t=>{await(await t())()};(self.Astro||(self.Astro={})).load=e;window.dispatchEvent(new Event("astro:load"));})();NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore Return After Nine Months In Space By Kavi Dolasia - 455 words 3 minutes Alignment View CCSS | NGSS Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned on a SpaceX capsule on March 18 2025 (Credit: NASA/ Flickr/ Public Domain) When NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore launched for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5 they expected to be back within eight days concerns about the spacecraft's safety extended their stay at the ISS for nine months The astronauts finally returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon on March 18 splashed down in the ocean off the coast of Florida just before 6:00 pm ET Rescue teams quickly retrieved the crew and placed them on stretchers This is a standard procedure for astronauts returning from space This makes it difficult for astronauts to stand or walk immediately upon returning to Earth they were then flown to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston they will be reunited with their families within a few days It came back to Earth without its astronauts on September 7 With no spacecraft available for their return the astronauts had to wait for the next SpaceX mission scheduled to arrive at the ISS on August 19 the launch was delayed until late September because the Starliner occupied the docking space To make room for Wilmore and Williams' return the mission had a two-member crew instead of the usual four Wilmore and Williams still had to wait for a fresh crew of four astronauts to replace them Wilmore and Williams finally embarked on their 17-hour journey back to Earth the two astronauts kept busy with experiments Williams took over as space station commander Both saw their extra time in space as a bonus so it adds a little different perspective." Reply 0 Likes giemma a month ago I’m glad they made it back safely Reply 0 Likes getiseruzeke a month ago This is so cool Reply 0 Likes kekymokovyla a month ago I didn't even know this but being in space for NINE MONTHS that's out of this world Reply 1 Like fcb376 a month ago I saw this on TV Reply 1 Like lucaii a month ago SO happy they're home!! Reply 2 Likes nomizilifehu a month ago I wonder what it feels like being back from earth cuz they have been in space for 9 months!🌍 Reply 1 Like sadiee2787 20 days ago Returning to Earth after nine months in space is a significant adjustment for astronauts and difficulty walking due to the effects of microgravity on their vestibular and musculoskeletal systems Reply 0 Likes ocicatpacific a month ago they prob feel rlly heavy bcuz lack of gravity on the ISS Reply 1 Like ocicatpacific a month ago honestly I would have been pretty homesick if I stayed up there s long as they did Reply 1 Like reevecoster a month ago Finally X (Twitter) © 2025 DOGO Media Log in to comment on videos and join in on the fun Watch the live stream of Fox News and full episodes Reduce eye strain and focus on the content that matters Astronaut Frank Rubio is carried to the medical tent shortly after returning to Earth from a 371-day mission aboard the ISS Rubio holds the record for the longest consecutive days spent in space by an American astronaut When astronauts return from a prolonged visit to space they are often carried out of their capsules and placed on stretchers The 'stranded' astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were no exception the astronauts were carried out of the spacecraft and loaded onto stretchers The astronauts were not sick or injured; the reason for this procedure has nothing to do with Williams and Wilmore's specific mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) but is simply a matter of protocol that all astronauts must follow When astronauts return to Earth from space This is due to temporary changes to the body that occur in space — a fact that NASA addresses with strict safety procedures "A lot of them don't want to be brought out on a stretcher, but they're told they have to be," John DeWitt director of applied sports science at Rice University in Texas and a former senior scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center where he developed methods to improve astronaut health during spaceflight Just like someone might experience motion sickness on a roller coaster or while riding in a boat on choppy waters astronauts can experience dizziness and nausea when they return to Earth astronauts are typically rolled out on a stretcher after their landing as a precautionary measure The temporary sensation occurs because our bodies are designed to take advantage of the constant force pulling us down here on Earth — gravity orbital space habitats such as the ISS are in perpetual freefall toward our planet which creates a feeling of weightlessness for the astronauts inside and prompts their bodies to adapt to the altered environment Related: Boeing Starliner astronauts spent nearly 300 days stuck in space — is that a new record? Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox So when astronauts return to Earth and gravity is reintroduced which can temporarily cause "space motion sickness," DeWitt said leading to a condition known as muscle atrophy To counteract these and other spaceflight-related effects astronauts who spend extended periods in space — including Williams Wilmore — follow a thorough daily exercise regimen using a suite of equipment on board the station "Been working out for the past nine months," Williams told Live Science via an email to DeWitt "We feel strong and ready to tackle Earth's gravity." including thruster malfunctions and leaking propulsion which led NASA to bring the spacecraft back to Earth empty —Saucer-like 'Winnebago' space capsule lands in Australia — marking 1st for commercial space industry "They're in good spirits and feel very confident that there's not going to be any major issues because of being on the space station so long from a physiological perspective," DeWitt said "They're getting exactly what they would have gotten had their trip been planned to be nine months." 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