They were supposed to remain barely a few days in space, they did not put their foot on the ground for … nine months. Butch Wilmore et Suni Williams remained blocked all this time in the International Space Station (ISS)fearing never being able to see their family again.
Interviewed by the BBCtwo months after their return to earth, the two astronauts told their uncertainties when they were in weightlessness. “The mooring was imperative. If we could not dock, would we be able to come back to earth? We didn’t know, ”explains Butch Wilmore on British television.
“We knew that no one was going to drop us”
The possibility of never seeing the earth again “has definitely crossed our minds,” he added. Locked in the space station, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, however, preferred not to mention aloud the worst scenarios. “In a way, we read each in the mind of the other,” said Suni Williams.
«Is it dit What do we have? What can we do? “, She added. Despite the anxiety, the two scientists claim to have always felt the support of NASA by their side. “We knew that nobody was going to drop us,” recalls the American.
Two months after their return, the two astronauts claim to be in great shape. Butch Wilmore says to feel “stronger than ever”, thanks to his daily bodybuilding sessions.
Suni Williams – who had run a marathon aboard the station – went back to running a few days after his return to Earth. “The simple fact of finding gravity on the head, the back and all this kind of thing is a little painful,” she said.
Since their return, the couple has worked with NASA and Boeing to solve the problems of the defective spacecraft that took them to space last summer. The two astronauts have already assured that they would fly again personally in this ship, once these technical problems are resolved.
