{"id":99172,"date":"2025-02-08T08:30:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T01:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/levanews.com\/?p=54049"},"modified":"2025-02-08T08:43:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T01:43:48","slug":"after-being-in-space-for-so-long-stranded-nasa-astronaut-makes-concerning-admission-about-one-thing-she-can-no-longer-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/after-being-in-space-for-so-long-stranded-nasa-astronaut-makes-concerning-admission-about-one-thing-she-can-no-longer-do\/","title":{"rendered":"After being in space for so long, stranded NASA astronaut makes concerning admission about one thing she can no longer do"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' size-full wp-image-54066 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/levanews.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/1080X1350-2025-02-08T083959.606.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"1080\"' height='\"1350\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p><em><strong>Astronaut Sunita Williams initially embarked on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission in space. Now, nearly eight months later, she and fellow astronaut Barry &ldquo;Butch&rdquo; Wilmore remain stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS), awaiting their return to Earth.\n<h3>Mission Delayed Due to Boeing Starliner Malfunctions\n</h3><p>Williams and Wilmore launched toward the ISS on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing&rsquo;s Starliner capsule. However, due to helium leaks and multiple system malfunctions, the capsule was deemed unfit for their return. While the Starliner capsule managed to return to Earth empty, NASA has since been searching for a safe way to bring the astronauts home.\n</p><p>Their return date has been repeatedly rescheduled, with the latest estimate pushing their journey back to late March.\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' size-full wp-image-54067 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/levanews.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/475805149_987415823253732_2791736801416996201_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"1024\"' height='\"669\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><h3>Political Controversy and Elon Musk\u2019s Response\n</h3><p>The astronauts&rsquo; prolonged stay in space has drawn political attention. Former President Donald Trump accused the Biden administration of abandoning Williams and Wilmore, urging Elon Musk and SpaceX to intervene.\n</p><p>\u201cElon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe,\u201d Trump stated. \u201cGood luck Elon!!!\u201d\n</p><p>Musk responded on X (formerly Twitter), confirming his willingness to help.\n</p><p>NASA has since decided that Starliner is unfit for the return trip, instead assigning the job to SpaceX. The Crew-9 capsule is currently docked at the ISS, but before it departs, Crew-10 must first be launched\u2014a process expected to take place in late March.\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' wp-image-54068 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/levanews.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/475761080_1312445379898471_1282667544000952126_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"1061\"' height='\"375\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><h3>Sunita Williams Reflects on Life in Space\n</h3><p>Despite the challenges, Williams recently shared her experience in a virtual interview with students from Needham High School, where she graduated in 1983.\n</p><p>Responding to a question about microgravity, she described the sensation as feeling like swimming or flying.\n</p><p>\u201cI\u2019ve been up here long enough now that I\u2019ve been trying to remember what it\u2019s like to walk. I haven\u2019t walked. I haven\u2019t sat down,\u201d she explained. \u201cI haven\u2019t laid down. You don\u2019t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here.\u201d\n</p><p>She acknowledged that both she and Wilmore had expected their mission to last longer than eight days, but not by this much.\n</p><p>\u201cIt was a little bit of a shock, actually,\u201d she admitted. \u201cWe knew that it would probably be a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different.\u201d\n</p><p style='\"text-align:' center><iframe loading='\"lazy\"' src="%5C%22%5C/%5C/www.youtube.com%5C/embed%5C/865JDEV6EM4?si=NR7j_rDWZScijRbd%5C%22" width='\"560\"' height='\"315\"' frameborder='\"0\"' allowfullscreen='\"allowfullscreen\"'>\n<h3>Williams Eager to Return Home\n</h3><p>While she remains positive, Williams is eager to return to Earth, particularly to be closer to her family.\n</p><p>\u201cMy mother\u2019s getting a little bit older, so in that regard, I just try to stay in touch with them as much as possible,\u201d she shared. \u201cI think I talk to my mom practically every day. Just check in with her and see how she\u2019s doing. So it\u2019s just a little bit different relationship than we had potentially planned on for the last couple of months. But we\u2019re managing.\u201d\n</p><h3>Addressing Health Concerns\n</h3><p>In November, Williams dismissed rumors that she had lost a significant amount of weight while in space. Speaking with New England Sports Network Clubhouse, she clarified that her weight remains the same as when she first launched.\n</p><p>She credited this to regular exercise, explaining that she and Wilmore have access to a treadmill and weightlifting equipment aboard the ISS, allowing them to stay in shape despite their extended stay in microgravity.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><p>Astronaut Sunita Williams initially embarked on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission in space. Now, nearly eight months later, she and fellow astronaut Barry &ldquo;Butch&rdquo; Wilmore remain stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS), awaiting their return to Earth. Mission Delayed Due to Boeing Starliner Malfunctions Williams and Wilmore launched toward the ISS &hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":99187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99186,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99172\/revisions\/99186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p></iframe></p></strong></em></p>