Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams discuss extended stay at ISS
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams and Nick Hague are set to answer questions Monday about their Crew-9 mission after a long stay aboard the International Space Station.
You can watch the post-flight news conference, which is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT Monday, at the embedded video at the top of this page or on Paste BN's YouTube page.
Wilmore and Williams were forced to stay at the ISS longer than anticipated due to issues with the Boeing Starliner vehicle that took them to space. Hauge later joined them at the ISS aboard the Crew-9 mission.
According to NASA, the three astronauts will answer questions about their time in space, where they conducted over 900 hours of research, including the study of plant growth and development, and stem cell technology to "improve patient outcomes on Earth," according to the space administration.
Wilmore and Williams returned from their third trip to the ISS a few weeks ago on a SpaceX Dragon capsule alongside Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Roscosmos. Gorbunov will not participate in the news conference because of his travel schedule, according to NASA.
NASA launched the Crew-9 mission in September with just two astronauts instead of four in order to free up two seats for Wilmore and Williams upon that mission's conclusion. The decision came after the U.S. space agency opted to send the troubled Starliner back to Earth without its crew, leaving Wilmore and Williams in need of a ride home − and extending their stay in space for several months longer than anticipated.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at Paste BN. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.