Anish Vij
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NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore have spoken out for the first time since their week-long test flight turned into a nine-month stay in space.
Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth after an unexpected nine-month mission aboard the International Space Station was only scheduled for eight days, as part of Boeing's crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft.
The pair were launched into space on 5 June, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. But upon docking with the ISS on 6 June, Starliner experienced thruster malfunctions, and NASA deemed it unsafe for the astronauts to return on time.
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Eventually, the astronauts departed the ISS and safely splashed down off the coast of Florida on 18 March, 2025.
“My first thought was, we just got to pivot, right?” Williams, 59, told Fox News’ America’s Newsroom.
“I was like, ‘OK, let’s make the best of it.’ We planned, we trained that we’d be there for some part of a time, so we were ready to just jump into it and take on the tasks that were given to us.”
“It’s not about me, it’s not about my feelings,” Wilmore, 62, added.
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“It’s about what this human space flight program is about. It’s our national goals.
“I have to wrap myself, my mind, around ‘what does our nation need out of me right now?’
“Did I think about not being there for my daughter’s high school year, of course… certainly, deal with the personal side of it, but I can’t let that interfere with what I’m called to do.”
The full interview will air today at 9am-11am ET.