Their business trip was planned for just eight days. Now it will probably last eight months – at least. The two NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore (61) and Suni Williams (58) have been stuck on the International Space Station ISS since June 6th. For technical reasons. That's an occupational hazard, of course. But how do you tell your partner? Motto: “Sorry honey, I'm staying in space a little longer.” Stranded in space: BILD spoke to experienced ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer (54) about this.
“At least I was able to take a few personal items with me, the two of them couldn't,” says the man who flew to the ISS in 2021 and stayed for 177 days. After all, Wilmore and Williams had only “booked” a short trip. That will now become a long-term stay.
Maurer: “It’s not easy. A few weeks are manageable, but half a year or maybe even eight months – that’s a different story.”
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer was on board the space station from November 2021 to May 2022
Williams and Wilmore are “trained and very tough”
Suni Williams is married, her husband Michael is a police officer in the US state of Oregon. The marriage is now a long-distance relationship. At least they can keep in touch, and every day. A satellite phone makes it possible. At the weekend there is even a 15-minute video conference with loved ones. At least.
Maurer knows his “colleague” Williams well. He says: “Suni is a real happy soul, she has already spent six months up there twice. I have already trained with her. She will take it easy.” Indeed. A few hours ago, she said from the infinite expanse: “I have a really good feeling in my heart that the spaceship will bring us home.”
And his colleague Butch Wilmore, who was also stranded? “Butch is more of the grumpy type,” says astronaut Maurer. “But he also has a lot of experience, including six months on the ISS. Both are trained test pilots and very hardened. They have been preparing for this first test flight with Boeing's new Starliner capsule for a long time.”
This means that if something goes wrong, they can deal with it. A normal astronaut would never be used on such a test flight.
Currently, nine astronauts live on the ISS, which orbits the Earth at an altitude of around 400 kilometers
Are there enough supplies on the ISS?
With Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, there are currently nine astronauts up there, three of them Russians. Matthias Maurer: “There are usually enough supplies, and the ISS is regularly supplied with supplies by cargo ships. It is possible that one of the two will have to sleep in the Boeing capsule because there are not enough cabins on the station.”
Why the two astronauts have to stay on the ISS longer
And why exactly can't the two US astronauts return to Earth right now? Their brand new Boeing spacecraft isn't working properly. Their Starliner capsule has problems with the engine controls. There are also said to be helium leaks. Helium is needed to press the fuel from the tanks into the engines using gas pressure.
Boeing's Starliner capsule has already caused significant problems before launch. It is uncertain whether it will ever be used regularly
How do Wilmore and Williams come back?
There are two scenarios for a return of the two NASA colleagues:
1. When all defects have been adequately remedied, they will return with the Boeing capsule.
2. If that doesn't work, a return flight will be organized with a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
Matthias Maurer: “Since the space shuttle disasters, NASA has become very cautious. They would only use the Boeing capsule if it was really safe. I have complete confidence in that.”
Maurer himself is currently preparing for the astronaut center of the European Space Agency in Cologne a new training facility for future moon mission and hopes to get a flight there.