New Delhi: Following their recent return from the International Space Station (ISS), NASA Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Nick Hague addressed the press regarding the future of NASA’s human spaceflight program. The trio spoke about the challenges they faced during their mission and their plans for future space endeavors, particularly regarding the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
In response to a reporter’s question, Mr. Wilmore acknowledged the issues encountered with the Starliner and emphasized the importance of learning from those challenges. “We will carefully study and address the problems we faced before attempting another mission with Starliner,” he said. When asked about placing blame for the mission’s setbacks, Mr. Wilmore humbly stated, “If I were to start pointing fingers, I’d blame myself first.” He continued, “Blame is not the right word—we are all responsible, including NASA and Boeing. Trust is critical. Instead of looking back and assigning blame, we are focused on moving forward, learning from this experience, and ensuring success in future missions.”
When questioned if they would return to space aboard the Starliner, Mr. Wilmore expressed confidence, stating, “Yes, we will return. We are committed to fixing and improving the spacecraft, and Boeing is fully committed as well.”
Ms. Williams also shared her perspective, highlighting the spacecraft’s potential. “The Starliner is highly capable, but there are areas that need to be addressed, as Butch mentioned. People are actively working on it. It’s an honor to be part of such an important program,” she noted.
The astronauts, along with Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, safely returned to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule on March 18.
The White House recently drew attention to former President Donald Trump’s involvement in the astronauts’ rescue, with Trump accusing Joe Biden’s administration of abandoning the astronauts. On March 7, President Trump reportedly granted permission to Elon Musk to bring the American astronauts back home. The mission had initially been expected to be short, but due to the Starliner malfunction, Williams and Wilmore spent an extended nine months aboard the ISS.
