Regrettable shipwreck or honorable challenge? 'Stranded' astronauts after months in space back on earth

The American astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore landed safely on earth at 10.57 pm Dutch time. Their crew Dragon capsule linked on Tuesday morning separately from the International Space Station ISS and landed on Parachutes off the coast of Florida.

Initially, the two would only stay in the ISS for eight days, but due to technical problems that became nine and a half months. Yet Williams and Wilmore and NASA fiercely fought the idea that they would be 'stranded'.

In June 2024, the Williams and Wilmore had traveled to the ISS with the first semi-specific test flight from Boeings Starliner-Capsule. On the outward journey, Starliner gave technical problems: a number of weir missiles were unexpected, and there was a helium leak.

Because the problems were not well understood, NASA did not dare to let the two travel back on board the Starliner capsule after eight days. The return to the atmosphere is one of the most dangerous stages of a space trip: in 2003 seven astronauts died on board Space Shuttle Columbia on the return, when the spaceship fell apart due to the high speeds and temperatures.

The Starliner capsule returned empty to earth, without further problems. It was decided to keep Williams and Wilmore until February 2025. The stocks and space, and amount of work on board the ISS allowed that easily, while extra flights there and back are expensive and logistically challenging.

On the planned following crew Dragon to the ISS in September, only Nick Hague and the Russian Aleksandr Gorboenov flew to the ISS. The other two places were swept empty, so that Williams and Wilmore could return in February. Due to technical problems with a SpaceX rocket, that eventually became March 14. A second crew Dragon capsule from SpaceX then linked to the ISS with four astronauts, to release Williams, Wilmore and also Hague and Gorboenov: this left on Tuesday morning, to land seventeen hours later.

Test flight

That they were 'stranded' during their extra time, Williams and Wilmore fought with all their might. « That was the story from day 1, » said Wilmore in February in an interview with CNN« But we don't feel left behind, stuck, or stranded. »

« We knew this was a test flight, and that we would come across problems (with Starliner), » said Williams. An extended stay also belonged to the possibilities from the start. « So no, we don't feel left behind. We feel our part of the team, and that is a great honor, » Williams told the news channel CBS.

The experienced Williams also stayed on board the ISS for a few months in 2006 and 2012, and carried out a total of nine space walks, two of which during her last stay. Since September she was commander of the ISS. Wilmore is also experienced with three space flights.

Other space experts also saw the extension as an honorable challenge instead of a regrettable shipwreck. « They think that's great, » said Philippe Schoonejans former manager maneuver at the Space Agency ESA in August against NRC. « All astronauts want to go to space, and you can't do that often. »

But the press saw it differently, time and again the two ended up in newspaper heads where they were 'stranded', 'stuck' or even 'left behind', also no ISS-Astronaut can go back to earth at any time: there is a sophisticated schedule of there and return flights with which the crews alternate. (There are always capsules placed with which all residents can leave the space station quickly in an emergency)

Trump and Musk

The 'stranded' versus 'professional challenge' issue received a political charge in February during an interview with President Donald Trump and SpaceX owner Elon Musk on the Fox channel. « At the request of the President, we accelerate the return of the astronauts, it has been ridiculously postponed, » said Musk. « They were left in space, » Trump came in, and then blamed with his predecessor Joe Biden. According to Musk, the two « left for political reasons, and that is not good. »

That became the Danish astronaut Andreas Mogsen (two space flights) too much. « What a lie, and that of someone who complains about the lack of honesty of the mainstream media, » he responded to X. Owner Musk replied with abusive words, and stated that he had immediately offered the Biden government to retrieve the two. Nothing has come out about this offer, in the first place a business for NASA.

In any case, speeding up the return is not true: the return plans were already made in August.

Starliner is now a growing noose for space and defense company Boeing, which has been working on the reusable capsule since 2010. A NASA report on the investigation into technical problems was published in January, but although 'significant progress' would have been made, the problems with the reservoirs have still not been clarified.

For NASA it is important to have multiple commercial providers from staff transport to the ISS, but for the time being SpaceX will remain the only available American space taxi, in addition to the Russian Soyuz capsule, which is also still used despite the invasion of Ukraine.

European Alternative

In 2022, European astronauts asked for the development of a European spacecraft that astronauts can transport, something that the Space Agency ESA returned to in 2024 by asking the company Arianespace to come up with proposals for the new European Ariane 6-rocket.

That will get along. According to the current plans, the aging ISS already falls back to Earth around 2030, to burn in the atmosphere. Without stranded astronauts on board.

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