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When NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore waved goodbye to their families as they set off to the International Space Station (ISS) in June, the pair expected to be back home just eight days later.
However, the astronauts are now stranded on the ISS due to Boeing’s faulty Starliner – and have received the horrifying news that they might not come back to Earth until February 2025.
This means that Wilmore, 61, won’t be able to hug his daughters, Daryn and Logan, nor his wife Deanna for what is believed to be around eight months, while Sunita’s, 58, husband Michael and her mother Bonnie anxiously await for her return.
About 10 miles from the Johnson Space Center, Providence Baptist Church in the Houston-area takes a moment during Wednesday Bible studies and Sunday evening services to pray for Butch, who cannot be there, as he remains stuck in space, orbiting the planet.
Butch and his fellow NASA test pilot, Sunita, are staying onboard the ISS longer than expected following thruster failures and helium leaks on Boeing’s inaugural crew flight for its Starliner capsule.
In this image from video provided by NASA, astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore give a news conference aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Commander and NASA astronaut, Barry “Butch” E. Wilmore (R) and his family attend the New York premiere of “A Beautiful Planet” at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on April 16, 2016 in New York City
Sunita Williams (R) with her family
Butch and Sunita have said they are confident the capsule will return them home safely, but there’s no return date yet, which means the congregation’s worries have subsided for now since they are safe aboard the space station, said Tommy Dahn. He is a pastor for the Pasadena, Texas, church where Wilmore is a longtime elder.
It’s the launch and return days that ratchet up their anxieties — and prayers.
‘We will definitely be on vigil as we find out when that’s going to happen,’ said Dahn, who is in close contact with Wilmore and his wife, Deanna.
Butch had paused before boarding the Starliner on each launch attempt, huddling in prayer with technicians and Sunita. He acknowledged the risks of spaceflight — especially on a test flight like his.
‘Our families have been a part of this from the beginning. … As far as preparing them, they’re prepared. We trust in sovereign God. Whatever the plan is, we’re ready for it, whatever that might be,’ he had told reporters ahead of the flight.
Sunita Williams (R) with her Slovenian-American mother Bonnie
Sunita Williams with her father, Dr Deepak Pandya, a well-known Indian-American neuroanatomist. He died in 2020
Wilmore’s faith that God is in control gives his family great peace, his wife, Deanna Wilmore, said via text message. He is content on the space station, neither worrying nor fretting, she said.
‘We’re not saying this means that nothing bad will happen or the Starliner will bring Barry home safely, but whatever the Lord does, will be for our good and for His glory,’ even if they don’t fully understand it, she said.
Butch was born in Tennessee and began his career as a Navy test pilot before joining NASA in 2000.
A devout Christian, he has credited his wife and God for keeping him grounded and guiding him through the challenges of being an astronaut.
In an interview with the podcast Family Life in 2016 he said: ‘You launch into space; you go 17,500 miles per hour; and all this other stuff—she’s the one that has helped put that in perspective. She’s the one bringing me back to what really, truly matters. Always the reminder: ‘God’s Word, God’s will, family worship—times that we can get our girls together.’ She’s the one who encourages and keeps that going.’
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The first astronauts to fly Boeing’s troubled Starliner are definitely not “stranded” at the International Space Station
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams walk at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, ahead of Boeing’s Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 6, 2024
n this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, center, pose with Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Mike Barratt, left, and Tracy Dyson, aboard the International Space Station’s Quest airlock on June 24, 2024
ASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose ahead of the launch of Boeing’s Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT), in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 25, 2024
This photo provided by NASA shows Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft which launched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on July 3, 2024
Sunita’s husband, Michael J. Williams, a police officer in Oregon, and her mother Bonnie have not commented on the stranded astronaut.
But in a 2007 interview, when asked about what it was like having a daughter in space, Bonnie said her family was used to it by now, and declared that ‘it’s no worse than when she was flying helicopters during the Gulf War or working as Navy test pilot’.
She also spoke about how her living room would become a makeshift conference room every Sunday so that the family could speak to Sunita over video call.
It is unclear how often the astronauts have been communicating with their loved ones, but according to NASA’s website, while communication from space to Earth isn’t always easy, astronauts can keep in touch with friends and family either through email or video call.
Sunita was born in Ohio to an Indian-American neuroanatomist father, Dr Deepak Pandya, and mother Bonnie, who is Slovenian-American. She has an older brother and sister, who have also not commented on the uncertainty of her return back to Earth.
The veteran pilots yesterday said in an update with NASA that they were ‘comfortable’ remaining in space for a few more weeks, and said they are ‘not complaining’ about spending more time away from Earth.
Sunita Williams poses inside a spacecraft
NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore gestures as he talks to family members after leaving the operations and checkout building for a trip to launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 Wednesday, June 5
The pair also said they are confident in Starliner, its team and their ability to get back home safely. ‘We’re absolutely confident (it’ll get us back safe)’, Butch said.
Butch and Sunita flew to the ISS at the beginning of June on board a Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
However, problems including helium leaks and thruster failures began to emerge as the spacecraft approached the ISS.
Thankfully, the pair managed to dock to the ISS safely, but the problems have scuppered their plans to return to Earth on board the same Boeing Starliner.
Tuesday marked the pair’s 60the day in space – instead of the intended eight-day mission.
Last week, Boeing said that it ‘remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew.’
That flight had been planned to take four astronauts to the ISS but two of the seats could be left empty if NASA decides that Starliner is not safe enough for a crewed return.
On social media, concerned fans back on Earth have been horrified at Williams and Wilmore’s predicament.
One commenter wrote: ‘Stuck in space for 60 days with no known solution is inhumane and torture.
‘Why did y’all teams send those astronauts in the first place? Where is the Change.Org petition to bring back the astronauts?’.
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