Stuck-in-space astronauts make first public comments since Boeing capsule left without them

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Stuck-in-space 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.

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 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.

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.

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Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press