Key Points
Stranded at ISS for 237 days due to Boeing Starliner issues
Returning via SpaceX Dragon capsule in March
Extensive spacewalk experience with 50+ hours logged
Williams has been stranded at the International Space Station since June 2024, after the faulty Starliner was declared unfit for human travel by NASA.
Speaking to students from Needham High School in the US on January 27, the 59-year-old NASA astronaut revealed what it was like living at the space station.
“I've been up here long enough right now I've been trying to remember what it's like to walk. I haven't walked. I haven't sat down. I haven't laid down. You don't have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here,” WBZ-TV reported.
Williams has spent a total of 322 days in space over the course of her two missions. She along with fellow NASA astronaut Butch Willmore became the first to ride the Starliner, developed by Boeing in June 2024.
What began as an eight-day sojourn on the ISS has extended to over 10 months now in space for the astronaut duo. They are now scheduled to return to Earth onboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in March.
Williams also told students that she hadn't to be stuck in space for such a long time, stating that it was a “bit of shock”. Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday said that US President Donald Trump had asked him to facilitate the return of both Williams and Wilmore as soon as possible.
The SpaceX CEO claimed that it was "terrible" that the pair were left "stranded" at the ISS for so long, even though NASA had already roped in SpaceX months ago to return both astronauts as part of its Crew-9 mission.
“The POTUS has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the Space Station as soon as possible. We will do so,” Musk said in a post on the social media platform.
“Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long,” he added.
Williams is expected to undertake another spacewalk on Thursday. This will be her second spacewalk in 12 years. With 50 hours and 40 minutes, she is second on the list of total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut.
