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ISS

Stranded Astronauts Make First Public Statement Since Being Left Behind On ISS (www.cbc.ca) 43

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC News: Stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them. It was their first public comments since last week's return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June. They remained behind after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in. "That's how it goes in this business," said Williams, adding that "you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity."

Wilmore and Williams are now full-fledged station crew members, chipping in on routine maintenance and experiments. They, along with seven others on board, welcomed a Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American earlier this week, temporarily raising the station population to 12, a near record. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spoke to the press on Friday for the first time since their Boeing Starliner capsule returned to Earth without them. The two, who have been on the International Space Station since June 6, said they are taking the mission's unexpected extension into 2025 in stride -- even if it means they've had to change their voting plans. The transition to station life was "not that hard" since both had previous stints there, said Williams, who will soon take over as station commander. "This is my happy place. I love being up here in space," she said.

The two Starliner test pilots -- both retired U.S. navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts — will stay at the orbiting laboratory until late February. They have to wait for a SpaceX capsule to bring them back. That spacecraft is due to launch later this month with a reduced crew of two, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams for the return leg. The duo said they appreciated all the prayers and well wishes from strangers back home. Wilmore said he will miss out on family milestones such as being around for his youngest daughter's final year of high school. The astronauts, who prepared for eight days in space, will now be up there for eight months, which could have a greater impact on the body. "It is a bit of a change from a sprint to a marathon," said Dr. Adam Sirek of the Canadian Society of Aerospace Medicine.

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Stranded Astronauts Make First Public Statement Since Being Left Behind On ISS

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  • by divide overflow ( 599608 ) on Friday September 13, 2024 @10:56PM (#64786901)
    Boeing valuation is a slow motion train wreck. That business has been in decline ever since their merger with McDonnell Douglas back in 1997.
    • Plane crashes (Score:4, Insightful)

      by stooo ( 2202012 ) on Saturday September 14, 2024 @01:17AM (#64786987) Homepage

      >> Boeing valuation is a slow motion train wreck.

      Nobody cares about the share price. Those are meant to go up and down.
      What matters is that the planes do not crash with people, or on people.

      • Re: Plane crashes (Score:5, Insightful)

        by newcastlejon ( 1483695 ) on Saturday September 14, 2024 @02:21AM (#64787039)

        Nobody cares about the share price.

        After the merger employees were quite literally told that every decision should factor in how the share price would be affected. That change in mindset is exactly why Boeing are in the shit now.

        • More specifically, to prioritise cost-cutting in an attempt to impress shareholders regardless of the cost in human lives.
          • by guruevi ( 827432 )

            Most of their contracts are government-related and that does require aggressive cost cutting to remain competitive against startups that aren't entrenched into government. If governments (not just the US, but it would be a start) were to simply stop maintaining these monopolies and put every contract out for honest bids, this wouldn't be a problem, Boeing would've gone out of business and 3-5 companies from their top engineers would have stood in its place.

            • In the aircraft business, buyers want to know that they can get replacement parts & support for the next 20-30 years. You wanna buy planes from a startup?
              • by guruevi ( 827432 )

                As you do in almost every business. I can currently buy replacement parts for cars that are 100 years old and there are people that maintain aircraft from manufacturers that have likewise gone out of business a long time ago. I'm not sure you are aware, but many parts in an aircraft are manufactured by not-Boeing, Boeing is just putting them together. There are other established companies out there, Cessna and Bombardier (makes the Learjet) to name a few common ones.

        • Nobody cares about the share price.

          After the merger employees were quite literally told that every decision should factor in how the share price would be affected. That change in mindset is exactly why Boeing are in the shit now.

          I find it one of the universe's greatest jokes is that any company focused completely on their share price ends up tanking the share price. It's hysterically on-point in a universe that typically just mehs out on everything.

  • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Friday September 13, 2024 @11:49PM (#64786935)

    Apologies to George Wyle and Sherwood Shwartz

    Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
    A tale of a fateful trip
    That started from Canaveral
    Aboard this troubled ship.

    The Pilot was a seasoned astronaut,
    The Commander was as well.
    They expected a trip of just eight days
    But got 90 days of hell (so far)

    Things went wrong from the very first,
    The helium was lost,
    Had to throw it into manual
    Before the ship could dock, before the ship could dock.

    The ship finally returned to ground as empty as can be
    Without Williams
    Nor Willmore too
    The billionaire or his ex-wife,
    The Cosmonauts and the rest
    Are still on the ISS now!

  • I know they signed up for this but I still feel bad for them not because they are stuck there but because they are being blasted with radiation on a daily basis. People don't think about it but they are being slowly cooked which includes their brains. Nobody takes and extended trip into space without permanent side-effects.

  • by cascadingstylesheet ( 140919 ) on Saturday September 14, 2024 @06:47AM (#64787187) Journal
    They are putting a brave face on it, but sheesh.
  • It turns out that being left behind is a symptom of Boeing left behind.

  • We want overtime pay.

The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and to watch someone else doing it wrong, without commenting. -- T.H. White

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