Tag:

Butch Wilmore

Astronauts Trapped In Space For 9 Months Prepare For Return Trip Home Astronauts Trapped In Space For 9 Months Prepare For Return Trip Home
Astronauts Trapped In Space For 9 Months Prepare For Return Trip Home A planned trip to the International Space Station last year, originally set to last just over a week, has instead left two astronauts marooned in orbit for nine months. However, after repeated delays, the wayward wanderers are finally expected to return home on Tuesday, March 18. Astronauts Sunita Williams, 59, from Needham, Massachusetts, and Butch Wilmore, 62, blasted off in June 2024. Technical issues plagued their Boeing Starliner, and the craft returned to Earth without them out of concern for their safety. On Friday, March 14, a SpaceX Dragon capsule launched and docked with the ISS t…
New England Native, Second Astronaut Will Hitch Ride On SpaceX Capsule Amid Starliner Troubles New England Native, Second Astronaut Will Hitch Ride On SpaceX Capsule Amid Starliner Troubles
New England Native, Second Astronaut Will Hitch Ride On SpaceX Capsule Amid Starliner Troubles After spending months in limbo aboard the International Space Station, an astronaut from Massachusetts finally has a return date to Earth. Pilot Suni Williams, from the town of Needham in Norfolk County, and commander Butch Wilmore will abandon Boeing’s troubled Starliner and instead hitch a ride on a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February 2025, NASA confirmed Saturday, Aug. 24. The stunning decision capped off 11 weeks of uncertainty after NASA discovered numerous helium leaks and malfunctions with Starliner’s thrusters following its launch from Florida's Space Coast on Wednesday, June 5. Ea…
NASA 'Not Quite Ready' To Bring New England Native, 2nd Astronaut Home Amid Starliner Troubles NASA 'Not Quite Ready' To Bring New England Native, 2nd Astronaut Home Amid Starliner Troubles
NASA 'Not Quite Ready' To Bring New England Native, 2nd Astronaut Home Amid Starliner Troubles Nearly two months after blasting off from Florida’s Space Coast, a pair of NASA astronauts – including a Massachusetts native – still have no idea when they’ll return to Earth. In a mission update Thursday, July 25, NASA and Boeing leaders still could not commit to a return date for Starliner pilot Suni Williams, from the town of Needham in Norfolk County, and commander Butch Wilmore. The pair – serving as guinea pigs of sorts for Starliner’s first crewed mission – remain in limbo aboard the International Space Station after numerous helium leaks and malfunctions with the spacecraft’s thrus…