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NASA Astronauts to Return Home | Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s Unexpected 9-Month Space Odyssey | New York Times Podcasts | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: NASA Astronauts to Return Home | Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s Unexpected 9-Month Space Odyssey
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Two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, are interviewed from the International Space Station (ISS) about their extended mission due to issues with their new Boeing Starliner spacecraft, discussing their experiences, perspectives on challenges, and anticipation of their return to Earth.
Station, can you hear me? Station, this
is Michael Barbaro, host of the Daily.
How do you hear me? Do you hear me? Hey,
Michael, we've got you loud and clear.
Welcome to the International Space Station.
For the past few months, a highly
unusual situation has been playing out
in outer space. Crew transport vehicles
into the pad. Two American astronauts,
Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore. Butch
and Sunny arriving on level 12. Last
look at planet Earth for a while, saying
hi to us. Hi, Sunny. Left Earth on a
test flight of a new Boeing spacecraft
that was supposed to bring them to the
International Space Station for just a
few days. 3 2 1
ignition and liftoff of Starlininer and
Atlas 5. They got there on June 6th of
2024, but their spacecraft
malfunctioned. NASA and Boeing
identified helium leaks and experienced
issues with the spacecraft reaction
control system or RCS thrusters as
Starlininer approached the station. And
NASA determined that it was not safe
enough for a return flight. And so what
was supposed to be a roughly 8day stay
in space has now turned into more than 9
months. There's Butch coming in through
the hatch. Sunny and Butch are now
scheduled to return, we think, in the
next few days. And so a few days ago,
with the help of NASA, I was able to ask
both of the astronauts about this very
events. Is that Sunny? It's either Sunny
or Butch. So, yes, it's Sunny. Uh, Sunny
and Butch, welcome to the Daily. Uh,
Sunny, this is definitely the first time
I have conducted an interview with
somebody who is upside down.
Congratulations to you for that
milestone among the many in your career.
Oh, now you're right. I just wanted to
demonstrate that my hair stands up even
if I'm upside down or upside right. You
have epic hair and I really just want to
thank you for making time for us. I I
wanted to start by asking you both how
you think about the situation that
you're in right now. Some people call
you stranded. Others, and I believe your
bosses among them, deeply resist that
phrase. Maybe you think of it as a work
trip that got really extended by months
and months and months. So if not stuck
exactly, how do you describe this
scenario you find yourselves in? I would
say it's work, it's fun, it's been
trying at times, no doubt. Um, but
stranded, no. Stuck? No. Abandoned? No.
There are no guarantees. You never know
what might happen because uh the plan
it's rarely actually do we ever go by
the plan because this is not an easy
business that we take part in. It is
very difficult. Human space flight is
tough and uh sometimes you run into
situations that are unexpected and we
found oursel in one and that's why we
continue to stay here and work and uh
actually just do what we are called on
to do and to support our nation's goals
in space and exploration.
Sunny, what has this bonus time, let's
call it that, allowed you to do both as
an astronaut and perhaps just as a human
that you could never have done if this
had all gone very smoothly with this
docking? You know, honestly, my previous
two flights were long duration. And what
I really liked about that is you could
uh bring a lot of people along with you
because it's a longer journey on a short
flight, a shuttle flight, or this test
flight. you you just don't have that
opportunity because you're super super
busy. And not saying that we're not busy
up here. We're always doing experiments
or maintenance or whatever. But having
been up here for a while, you get a
little bit of more time to enjoy the
view out the window. You get a little
more time to adapt to space. You get a
little more time to actually talk to
people on the ground and bring them
along and have them understand exactly
what we're doing. So, I think that's one
of the biggest benefits um from being
here for a long duration and really
being able to explain all that the
International Space Station has to offer
and what our goals are as we go further
than low Earth orbit. While you've been
up there, I don't need to tell you this.
A lot has happened down here, including natural
natural
disasters. And some of them, I imagine,
have been visible to you given your
vantage point. And I'm thinking of the
California wildfires or the hurricane
that struck your hometown in both your
cases, right, of of Houston. Can you
describe in some detail, because I think
your perspective on this visually is so
unique, what those looked like from the
space station? I have this sense that
they must have been slow motion
disasters that you could see from space.
Yes, we can. I I can tell you uh our
first thought, of course, is is not the
view that we see. It's what's taking
place real time on the ground below us
as people are going through some very
difficult and trying times, some life
and death situations, and we know that.
But yeah, to see a hurricane from space
is truly amazing because you can see the
power in the clouds. You truly can. Um
to see the smoke rise from the west
coast of our United States when and
realizing all that was taking place
there. It's we're heartbroken for all
that was going on, what they're dealing
with compared to what we're dealing
with. I mean, we're dealing with nothing
compared to those type of things that
are life-changing. This is this is
life-changing in certain respects for
us, but it's nothing compared to what uh
the the devastation that we have seen
take place below us. And so, you know,
our prayers go out to them as people
rebuild and change uh and and go forward
with their lives. Right. Were either of
your homes damaged in that in that
hurricane? I I think I believe I read
that perhaps one of them was. We had a
little bit of damage, a little roof
damage, and so we we got a new roof out
of the deal. So that that that was
probably needed anyway. So it worked out
in our in our in our favor. Okay. But I
do have to ask, how do you arrange for a
new roof from outer space or do you just
have to seed that kind of ground to
somebody else in your family?
I had some interaction with it, but
yeah, a lot of folks on the ground,
friends, people from church coming in
and helping out. And then of course, uh
I can't do much from here. So, my wife
Deanna taking charge there, making it
happen. I'm I'm curious
about the psychology of of being in this
place for a lot longer than than you
expected and and forgive me for asking
this because it's such a unique
situation. Is there anything
approaching space therapy? I mean, who
do you talk to about the fundamental
weirdness of this unexpected situation?
This is something this situation that we
wound up in is something that our paths
have prepared us for from day one. I
mean, we came into the military, both of
us, as uh young fledglings, and we
started uh in in some very challenging
scenarios. And those things truly
prepared us to compartmentalize, to set
things aside uh that that that really if
I can't affect something, why would I
fret over it or or or or worry about it
or something or along those lines? We go
forward, we compartmentalize, and we see
what our tasks are. And that's what
we've been trained to do over the course
of a lifetime. Um, and and that is
actually easy. It's not easy, but it's
something that we've been accustomed to
and we kind of just fall into. Anything
to add? Yeah, there's a huge support
team for us uh on the ground, including
our families, of course, that, you know,
they were expecting us to just be gone
for a little while and then gone for a
little longer time than that. you know,
making sure the grass is cut, you know,
just the simple things, but also the the
really important things like when
natural disasters hit our hometown. So,
I think it's been a little bit more
difficult for them. I hats off to my
family, Butch's family, for you know,
just marching through it. this is not
necessarily their job. And uh you know,
just having those conversations with
people on the ground actually to me was
really nice because I know folks were
really ready to just support us up here
and and change their plans for when we
do come home, which will be a big party,
I promise. Your your spirits are both
exceptionally high. I think anyone
watching this can just feel that. I
wonder what rituals you have established
either yourselves or together to keep
your spirits as high as they clearly
are. You know, we have a pretty good gym
up here. Uh so both Butch and I are big
fans of working out and so that is uh
that's been I think one of those things
that you know, just even on the ground,
you know, going for a run or going to
the gym and lifting weights always makes
you feel better. And that's a a thing
that we have to do here on a daily basis
anyway. um you know and of course we've
have conversations around the dinner
table um about you know Starlininer
about ISS about spacew walks and all
that kind of stuff as well as family and
what's going down what's going on down
on the ground so yeah I think just
having conversations with each other as
well as our our colleagues on the other
end of the space station um you know we
try to get together at least once a week
and we've had a lot of holidays up here
together as well and uh it's like a
little family I've got a lot of brothers
I'd also say that uh NASA does a
fantastic job of keeping us connected
with our families and those that we care
about and care about us uh that are on
the planet while we're off the planet.
They they give us the means to call, do
video calls, those type of things. And
that really really goes a long way to to
continue and help us uh deal with all
types of situations uh that takes place
in anyone's life, theirs included. But I
know you have a a child in their last
year of high school, which is I imagine
a a tough year to miss. Oh, it is indeed
tough. Um I tell you what, my daughter
is really learned a lot and she is
tough. And it does make your your heart
feel kind of good when your daughter
says, you know, dad, I I didn't know how
much I needed you until you were gone.
So that's that's something that, you
know, that that makes you feel good as a
dad. my daughter Logan as well as my
oldest daughter Darren who's in her
second year of college. I'm so proud of
them and for their strength and their
resilience through all of this because
it has been trying for them as well. I
understand that this is probably going
to be your last trip to the
International Space Station and that the
space station's overall days are
numbered. There's a plan to decommission
it fairly soon. So that makes me wonder
what that's like for you, but also if
you're tempted to, you know, slip a
piece of paper or scratch somewhere on
the walls of the station, Butch and
Sunny were here 2024 to 2025. I mean,
are there any tokens that you're going
to leave behind?
Hey, that's a good idea. I didn't think
about that
before. No. Um, seriously, uh, you know,
this is just a a magical place. It's a
wonderful place and it we have our like
I think our mindset has changed, you
know, as as things are getting closer
and I was like, okay, we're heading
home. Um, and it makes you really want
to enjoy every bit of your time that you
have up here. You know, just, you know,
joking around by floating upside down or
this module is spectacular. It's
beautiful, clean uh, the gem, the
Japanese module. Uh you can do flips and
turns in here and you sort of feel like
yes, your days are numbered up here and
you want to take advantage of everything
that's microgravity while you can.
Butch, that was a fantastic somersault.
Still got
it. Um I really just want to thank you
both for for your time and I want to
wish you a very safe return after what
you went through on the way up which was
really perilous. I mean, the
thrusters went through real problems. I
I I I know your faith in NASA and all
your colleagues is extremely high,
but you know, between you, me, and
everybody listening in in Houston, are
you nervous about the return trip? I
don't think nervous is the is the term
that I would use. I mean, you're
cautious about anything. I mean, this is
this is human space flight, and we're
going to be inside of a plasma ball at
3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as we reenter
the atmosphere. That's not something
that you do often or do every day. And
it's not something that uh that uh is is
easily accomplished either. That's why
there's only three space fairing nations
on the globe that do this human space
flight. Uh it's not an easy business. So
yeah, I mean you're you're you're
nervous, no cautious uh in certain
respects, but eventually you get to the
point where there's again there's
there's nothing we can do about it. So
no going to fret over that and uh just
trust that the systems work as the
systems are are designed to work. Um,
fortunately for us, we have a fantastic
ops team in mission control down in
Houston. That's why we're here. So,
yeah, it was fairly perilous out there
on the on the we call it the V-bar out
in front of the space station as we were
rendevous rendevousing. But our ops team
came together and they got us docked,
which made the all the difference of
course uh and us being here right now.
So, to them, we're grateful. They're a
bunch of heroes down there. I've said it
many times. I've said it to them and
I'll say it to you as well. We're
grateful for them. And uh but going
back, yeah, going back is just it's it's
just as a perilous a situation, but uh
certainly something we're prepared for,
the ground teams are prepared for, and
uh and it's quite a quite an exciting
ride to be honest with you as well. So,
we're looking forward to it in that
respect. And and Sunonny, my last
question to you. What's the thing you're
most looking forward to back here on
Earth? Oh, there's a couple things.
um really jumping in the ocean probably
is top, but uh pretty close after that
of course is his is his family and my
dogs. I just can't I can't wait to give
them a big hug.
Well, we wish you very safe return and
thank you for your service to our
country and thank you for your time.
Thank you, Michael. It's been a
pleasure. Good [Music]
luck station. And this is Houston ACR.
That concludes the event. Thank you. [Music]
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