(NEXSTAR) – NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are expected to speak to the media in their first news conference since returning to Earth on March 18.
The event is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
Wilmore and Williams blasted into orbit in June 2024, as part of a test flight of Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule. They were scheduled to return about eight days later, but problems plagued the mission and NASA ultimately decided to bring the Starliner home, leaving Wilmore and Williams on the International Space Station.
“Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in August 2024. “A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. 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.”
NASA eventually tasked SpaceX with the astronauts’ return trip, initially scheduling their homecoming for February 2025. Issues with the SpaceX capsule caused further delays into March, when a relief crew was sent to the ISS and Wilmore and Williams ultimately returned to Earth.
Wilmore and 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.
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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
from WKRN News 2 https://ift.tt/AIL0j6J
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