Around dinner time on Tuesday, two NASA astronauts will splash down off the coast of Florida, returning from the International Space Station. This might not normally be news, but Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were only supposed to be in space for a week. Instead, they’ll have spent 287 days in orbit, or more than nine months. Here’s how it happened
When did the astronauts leave Earth?
Wilmore and Williams blasted off from Earth on June 5, riding a brand-new Boeing Starliner. It was the first crewed test-flight of the troubled vehicle, which had fallen behind schedule and over budget, and it was meant to visit the space station and return home a little more than a week later.
But its problems were not over. There were thruster problems during the approach to the ISS, and although the capsule ultimately docked safely, NASA was concerned about its use as a ride home.
What happened to the Starliner?
After much testing back on Earth, NASA and Boeing decided to bring the Starliner back without a crew. Despite some additional technical problems, it landed safely on Earth on Sept. 7. Wilmore and Williams, however, remained in space.
What was the plan to bring them home?
NASA decided back in August that the two astronauts would come home on a SpaceX Dragon Capsule. However, it took time for the agency to determine which capsule would be used, and how many people would go into space on it, since there would be two additional passengers for the ride home.
Were they stranded?
Not really. The ISS always has enough vehicles docked with it to bring everyone back to Earth right away in the event of an emergency. But since this wasn’t considered an emergency — indeed, Wilmore and Williams were happy with their extra time in orbit — that plan was never considered.
Did Elon Musk say he would rescue them?
Yes. Shortly after Donald Trump took office this year, Musk posted to social media that “POTUS has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the Space Station as soon as possible,” adding: “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Trump chimed in with a reference to “the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration,” adding: “Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”
However, NASA and the astronauts were quick to point out that Wilmore and Williams had not been abandoned and were not stranded, and that a plan to bring them home safely was already in the works.
In fact, the capsule that will land on Tuesday has been at the space station since September, part of a standard six-month rotation of craft there.
When Musk claimed that he offered a special mission to retrieve them but was rebuffed because he was a Trump supporter, NASA’s former deputy administrator Pam Melroy told Bloomberg News: “An offer to bring the crew home early … never came to headquarters.”
Is this the first time something like this has happened?
No. Other astronauts have had extended stays on the space station due to changes in traffic schedules or technical issues. In fact, just a year and a half ago, Frank Rubio returned to Earth after his stay on the ISS was more than doubled, to 371 days from its original 180, as he waited for a replacement Soyuz capsule to arrive. (The one he was supposed to return in was damaged.)
However, Wilmore and Williams do hold the record for the biggest difference in actual versus expected time in space — almost 36 times longer than planned.
What will happen when the astronauts get home?
After standard medical checks, Wilmore and Williams will fly to Houston and be reunited with their families. “It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us,” Williams recently told reporters from the ISS.
She added: “We came up prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short. That’s what we do in human spaceflight.”
With files from Bloomberg
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