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NASA Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore have been at the International Space Station since June, although they initially expected staying for only eight days. They will return to Earth at the end of March.
But because his stay extended, Williams established a new record on Thursday. It was a 5 -hour and 26 minutes space walk with Wilmore, and with that walk he overcame the record established by a woman for the time spent on space walks. According to Space.comWilliams now has 62 hours and 6 minutes of space walk, surpassing former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who had 60 hours and 21 minutes.
In this most recent space walk, the two worked to finally eliminate a defective radio unit, one that astronauts on two previous space walks could not eliminate.
Williams previously associated with astronaut Nick Hague for a space walk in January 16. On that space walk, Williams and Hague replaced a gyroscope assembly that helps maintain the orientation of the orbital advanced position, NASA said. Astronauts also installed patches to cover damaged areas of light filters on the X -ray telescope of Inner Composition of Neutron Star, replaced a reflector device in one of the international coupling adapters and the verified access areas and the connector tools that Astronauts will use Alpha Maintenance of the magnetic spectrometer.
NASA Astronaut Suni Williams looks outside the International Space Station during the space walk of January 16, 2025.
Trump and musk
Astronauts are scheduled to return home in March. But that might not be fast enough for President Donald Trump.
“I just asked Elon Musk and Spacex that ‘Go get’ to the 2 brave astronauts that the Biden administration has practically abandoned in space,” Trump wrote in Truth Social, According to NPR. “Good luck Elon !!!”
Astronauts are far from abandoned. The delay was caused because NASA and Boeing engineers discovered problems with the spacecraft that led astronauts to space, and chose to return that vehicle to Earth without a crew.
And it is not clear what Musk could do, since the two are already scheduled to fly home in a capsule made by their company, Spacex, and that capsule is already docked in the ISS. So technically, astronauts could go home at any time, but that would leave the space station of brief staff and put projects, says NPR. The two astronauts say that while they miss their families, they still have work to keep them busy.
“We eventually want to go home,” Williams said in a Recent press conference. “We leave our families a while ago, but we have a lot to do here and we have to do those things before going.”
The return of February is now March
Recently, NASA withdrew the return of Williams and Wilmore to Earth from February to the end of March.
“The NASA and Spacex evaluated several options to manage the next crew delivery, including the use of another dragon spacecraft and manifest adjustments,” according to A NASA press release issued on December 17. “After careful consideration, the team determined that the launch of the crew-10 at the end of March, after completing the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option to meet NASA’s requirements and achieve the objectives of the Space station for 2025.
The delay is for NASA and Spacex teams to complete the work in the new Dragon Mission spacecraft. That new ship will launch four crew members to the ISS: Commander Anne McClain, the commander, the pilot Nichole Ayers, the Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once the new team is established, Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nas Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth.
But Williams and Wilmore do not complain about their extended stay.
“I like everything about being here”, Williams said In early December. “Living in space is super fun.”
Astronauts remain busy, with Williams and Wilmore helping the other ISS residents in space botany studies and other research, According to NASA’s blog in ISS. They have helped in more than 60 scientific studies in their almost six months on board, Washington Post reports.
This is what you need to know about what the two astronauts are doing.
Who are astronauts?
Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and are naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astronaut since 1998, and Wilmore since 2000. Both have a lot of experience in space.
Williams is the former record holder of most of the space walks of a woman (seven) and most space walks for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007, he ran the first marathon for anyone The space.
In 2009, Wilmore tested the Atlantis space ferry in his mission to the ISS, and in 2014, he was part of the ISS team that used a 3D printer to manufacture a tool, a ratchet key, in space, the first time that humans made something out of the world.
What was your original mission in space?
Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as a pilot, traveled to the ISS in a capsule made by 15 -foot wide boeing called Starliner. They launched on June 5 and coupled with the ISS on June 6. NASA expects Starliner to give the organization a new way of getting crews to and from ISS, and the fact that it is done by Boeing is another sign that NASA is beginning to bow in the private sector for its options of its options Human Space Flight, The New York Times reported.
Wilmore and Williams’s ISS mission was supposed to last only eight days, during which they would try aspects of Starliner and see how it works with a human crew in space. But due to complications with Starliner, the two astronauts are still there.
What do astronauts say?
Astronauts have been positive about their experience. In a live press conference In September, Williams said that despite knowing that his mission was scheduled to take only eight days, both had been “training for several years” for it. They are completely qualified to remain in space for a prolonged period of time, and to help pilot the Spacex Dragon spacecraft that will take them home next year.
“It’s very peaceful here,” Williams said on September 13, although he added that they miss their families on Earth.
Astronauts are working in research, maintenance and analysis of data during their extended stay.
“We are having a good time here in ISS,” Williams said At a press conference Held from orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch doesn’t complain that we are here for an additional couple.”
Wilmore and Williams answered the media questions in March.
How were they trapped in space in the first place?
The Starliner was delayed in May due to a problem with a valve in the rocket. Then, the engineers had to fix a helium leak. Those are all bad news for Boeing. He is competing with Spacex, who has been transporting astronauts to the ISS since 2020, making more than 20 successful trips to the space station.
Starliner finally launched, on an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, but some problems accompanied him. NASA announced that Three helium leaks They were identified, one of which was known before the flight, and two new. In addition to the leaks, the crew had to solve failed control controllers, although the ship could successfully attach with the ISS.
Spacex has also had failures. A Falcon 9 rocket exploded at the launch of the platform in 2016. In July of this year, a Falcon 9 rocket experienced a liquid oxygen leak and deployed its satellites in the wrong orbit, the New York Times reported. And a Falcon 9 rocket at the end of August lost a reinforcement of the first stage when it became the Atlantic Ocean and caught fire.
But that said, Spacex has more than 300 successful flights from Falcon 9 to his credit.
Stuck in space: a timeline
- May: Starliner launch was delayed due to a problem with a rocket valve, and then a helium leak.
- June 5: Starliner launches with Williams and Wilmore on board.
- June 6: Starliner accumulates with ISS despite dealing with three helium leaks and failed control propellants.
- September 6: Starliner leaves ISS and lands in New Mexico, leaving Beliams and Wilmore behind.
- September 28: The Spacex Crew-9 mission is launched with The Hague and Gorbunov in a Dragon spacecraft.
- September 29: Spacex Dragon Mate with ISS.
- December 17: NASA announces that the launch of four crew members to the ISS will be delayed from February to the end of March.
- March 2025 onwards: Spacex Dragon Spacecraft will return to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov.
