Stranded astronauts make first public statement since being left behind on ISS

Stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them.

It was their first public comments since last week's return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June.

They remained behind after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in.

"That's how it goes in this business," said Williams, adding that "you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity."

Wilmore and Williams are now full-fledged station crew members, chipping in on routine maintenance and experiments. They, along with seven others on board, welcomed a Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American earlier this week, temporarily raising the station population to 12, a near record.

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NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spoke to the press on Friday for the first time since their Boeing Starliner capsule returned to Earth without them. The two, who have been on the International Space Station since June 6, said they are taking the mission's unexpected extension into 2025 in stride — even if it means they've had to change their voting plans.

The transition to station life was "not that hard" since both had previous stints there, said Williams, who will soon take over as station commander.

"This is my happy place. I love being up here in space," she said.

The two Starliner test pilots — both retired U.S. navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts — will stay at the orbiting laboratory until late February. They have to wait for a SpaceX capsule to bring them back. That spacecraft is due to launch later this month with a reduced crew of two, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams for the return leg.

The duo said they appreciated all the prayers and well wishes from strangers back home. Wilmore said he will miss out on family milestones such as being around for his youngest daughter's final year of high school.

The astronauts, who prepared for eight days in space, will now be up there for eight months, which could have a greater impact on the body. 

"It is a bit of a change from a sprint to a marathon," said Dr. Adam Sirek of the Canadian Society of Aerospace Medicine.

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Stranded NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams spoke to the media for the first time since the Boeing Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth. The Canadian Society of Aerospace Medicine’s Dr. Adam Sirek reacts to the news conference.

He said the astronauts would now need to spend more time on the already limited amount of exercise equipment on the station, which all the astronauts need to use and which is blocked into their schedule. 

"They're going to need to spend more time protecting those bones and those muscles and ensuring they have the right nutrition so that when they come back to Earth they are less deconditioned and ready to get back up into space faster," Sirek told CBC News.

Their Starliner capsule marked the first Boeing spaceflight with astronauts. It endured a series of thruster failures and helium leaks before arriving at the space station on June 6. It landed safely in the New Mexico desert earlier this month, but Boeing's path forward in NASA's commercial crew program remains uncertain.

The space agency hired SpaceX and Boeing as an orbital taxi service a decade ago after the shuttles retired. SpaceX has been flying astronauts since 2020.