What if your return to Earth is disrupted right before the finish line? This is exactly what happened to NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in June 2024. During its first manned test flight, their new Boeing Starliner spacecraft experienced engine problems and a coolant leak before docking with the ISS, jeopardizing the capsule’s use for returning home.
“The docking was critical. If we had not docked with the ISS, we did not know if we would be able to go home”, Wilmore admitted in an interview with the BBC two months after his return.
The prospect of not seeing Earth again certainly flashed through the minds of the Starliner crew. But the astronauts did not panic. Their self-control, which they learned at the NASA training center, prevailed: “You read each other’s minds and figure out how to proceed”, Williams explained. Thanks to prompts from Earth, the engines were restarted within minutes, and the docking finally took place.
10-month adventure
However, the adventure did not end there. Instead of the planned 8 days, Williams and Wilmore stayed in orbit for almost 10 months. The reason was a series of technical problems with the Starliner. Returning to it was considered risky. Fortunately, there is always a plan “B”: the astronauts returned to Earth on March 18 in a SpaceX Dragon capsule docked to the ISS as a lifeboat.
Although the media began calling the duo Williams and Wilmore “stuck in orbit,” the astronauts emphasized that they were never trapped or abandoned. “We knew everyone had our backs”, Williams said. They ignored even the political noise surrounding their stay on the station, focusing on their work and scientific experiments.
Phenomenal shape after returning
The most surprising result of the recovery was a fitness revolution. Thanks to intense daily zero-gravity training (squats, bench press) on special equipment, the astronauts returned in phenomenal shape. “I did it every day for 10 months. I came back literally stronger than I have ever been in my life”. But Williams, who ran a marathon on a treadmill in space, admitted that adapting to Earth’s gravity was not easy for her: “After 10 months in space, the first month my back could barely hold my body weight, it was painful”.
Despite the tests, both astronauts expressed confidence in the Starliner and are ready to fly it again when the technical problems are resolved.
“It is a very powerful ship with unique capabilities, a great vehicle for future missions”, Williams said. Their unexpected “space odyssey” was not only a test of technology but also an impressive example of human endurance and physical adaptation in the most extreme conditions.
Earlier, we reported on how much the Starliner astronauts got for 286 days in space.
Provided by BBC
