On Jun 5, 2025, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were sent into space, on what should’ve been a 8 day mission. Unfortunately, the Boeing Starliner Spacecraft that was supposed to take them back to the ISS experienced technical issues, making it very dangerous to return to Earth.
As a result, the short 8-day mission turned into 9 months in space. They returned on March 18, 2025, with 2 other astronauts from the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Their capsule landed on the coast of Florida, with all astronauts safe.
Both astronauts say they didn’t view it as them being ‘stuck’ and that they would do it again. They say that their experience should be a reminder of the many possibilities of space travel and how to deal with situations that don’t go your way. Suni Williams says, “When something does not go your way, you just have to take the blinders off and look around you to see what other really great things are waiting for you.”
