(Image source from: x.com/Commercial_Crew)
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams, who is currently on the International Space Station (ISS), said that she finds the space station to be her "happy place" and that she thoroughly enjoys being up there. Ms. Williams and her fellow NASA colleague Butch Wilmore launched on the Boeing's Starliner on June 5th as part of the vessel's first crewed mission, which was originally planned to be an eight-day mission. However, due to several technical issues, the Starliner had to return to Earth without them last week, resulting in their stay being extended to eight months. Ms. Williams acknowledged that this is part of the nature of their work, stating "that's how things go in this business." She also mentioned that the transition to station life was not particularly difficult for them, as both astronauts had previous experience on the space station. The veteran astronaut expressed her love for being in space, saying "This is my happy place. I love being up here in space." She further added that their goal was to take the Starliner to completion and land back on Earth, but they now have to focus on the next opportunity. Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore are scheduled to return in February with the Crew-9 flight of billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The astronaut expressed some concern about not returning home immediately, as she had plans with her family, like spending time with her mother. However, everyone was supportive, and they were prepared for the extension. The mission commander stated that they could have returned on the Starliner spacecraft, but they ultimately decided against it due to some issues they were not comfortable with. The astronauts said they were eager to participate in the upcoming US presidential election from the International Space Station, with one of them already requesting his ballot.
The upcoming US elections will be a contest between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, set for November 5. After years of delays, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft finally launched on June 5, carrying former military test pilots Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station. However, as Starliner approached the ISS, NASA and Boeing discovered helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft's thrusters. Five of the 28 thrusters failed during the flight, and the capsule experienced several helium leaks, which are used to pressurize the thrusters. Despite this, Starliner was still able to dock with the space station, which has hosted rotating crews of astronauts for over 20 years. Nonetheless, NASA was concerned that the capsule would not have sufficient thrust to return to Earth, and decided to transfer the two astronauts to a SpaceX mission, while the Starliner would return to Earth empty.
