After an indefinite delay, NASA's Boeing Starliner returned to Earth on September 7th, but without the astronauts. The astronaut Butch Wilmore revealed why he and Sunita Williams were not on the returning spacecraft. They spoke at a video press conference late on Friday about their time at the International Space Station.

Explaining why he and Sunita were not in the returned Starliner, Wilmore said, "We encountered some issues that made us uncomfortable about returning on Starliner." Wilmore mentioned, "Fortunately, we had a space station and we had other options to stay and come back in different ways if that's what the data showed." He added that there have been "some trying times" since the start of the mission in space.

Williams, on the other hand, expressed her positive experience in the space; he mentioned it as "not that hard. This is my happy place. I love being up here in space." "We wanted to take Starliner to completion and land back home, but you know, you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity," she added.

Butch Wilmore
Image Source: Youtube

Meanwhile, she also depicted a feeling of nervousness about the delay. She recalled spending time with her family and all the plans she had for the fall and winter. "In the back of my mind, there are folks on the ground who have plans, like my family... spending time with my mother. And I think I was fretting more about that, like the things we had planned for this fall or winter... but everybody was on board, and that prepared us," Williams said.

Initially intended for eight days, the Boing's Starliner mission was prolonged due to the malfunction in the spacecraft. The two astronauts will now return to Earth next year in February in a SpaceX craft.

Plans of voting

Both the astronauts expressed excitement for the upcoming presidential elections; they are ready for voting from space. Wilmore highlighted his request for an absentee ballot. "I sent down my request for a ballot today," he said.

You might also be interested in - Sunita Williams' ISS mission might stretch to 8 months; SpaceX steps in after NASA's Starliner fails to return