Massachusetts astronaut Suni Williams says she will go home to New England after being stuck in space
Astronaut and Needham, Massachusetts native Sunita Williams spoke about her nine-and-a-half months stuck in space for the first time since returning to Earth in a news conference on Monday.
Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore spoke to reporters at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas about their extended stay on the International Space Station.
Sunita Williams returning to New England
Williams said that the first thing she wanted to do when she made it back to earth was hug her husband and her dogs. As for the first thing she ate, well that was an easy way to reacclimate to being home.
"For home, for me, something that really reminds you of home. My father was a vegetarian, so I had a good grilled cheese sandwich when I got home. That reminded me of him," she said.
She said that her family had been making plans while she was gone in space throughout the year that she is looking to catch up on. But something that she and her husband had discussed was their return to New England.
"Personally, we have a house up in New England, and my husband's been talking about when we are going to get up there and do a lot of fun stuff up there. I think that's probably appropriate for when it gets hot and humid here in the summer. Take a little reprieve up there," Williams explained in the press conference.
She even gave a shoutout to her hometown team saying, "Go Sox!"
Message for Needham children
Williams had a message for the people of Needham.
"That is the biggest thing that I want to pass down, particularly to kids who think that their life should be this straight arrow to what you want to do and you're just going to get there. Well sometimes it takes some turns, some rights, and some lefts, so you just keep focused on your goal, and other doors might be opened for you. That's the biggest message," Williams said.
"When something doesn't go your way. You just have to take the blinders off and look around you and see what other really great things are waiting for you," she added.
She highlighted the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) during the conference and how it is essential to space exploration and getting them home.
"I hope the work that we've done up there also encourages the next generation of kids to understand how important that is and how they can become involved," Williams said.
Despite being away from her family during the holidays, Williams had a very positive view of the experience.
"It was pretty awesome to have the holidays up there. It's pretty unique. Not many of us get to do that."
Williams did say that she would go up on the Starliner spacecraft again when the issues were fixed.
How long were the astronauts stuck in space?
Williams and Wilmore were only expected to be in space for eight to 10 days originally when they blasted off on June 5, 2024. That soon turned to months after NASA was concerned about issues with the Starliner they arrived in. The spacecraft returned to Earth in September without Williams and Wilmore.
Then, the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule traveled to the space station with two empty spots for Wilmore, 62, and Williams, 59. However, NASA said that their replacements were aboard the SpaceX Crew-10, which was set to launch "no earlier than late March 2025," after experiencing issues.
Williams and Wilmore finally returned to Earth on March 18, just off the coast of Florida, on the SpaceX Dragon capsule with commander Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
Their 286-day mission, which spanned 121 million miles and 4,576 orbits, is the sixth-longest single NASA mission.
Astronauts stuck in space
Williams' 10 months in space were not without challenges. In January, the astronaut spoke to Needham High School students while she was stuck in space. She answered questions from the students and described her out-of-the-ordinary experience.
"I've been up here long enough right now I've been trying to remember what it's like to walk. I haven't walked. I haven't sat down. I haven't laid down. You don't have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here," Williams said.
She explained that they expected to be stuck at the space station a bit longer than originally planned, but the "extended stay was just a little bit different."
"It was a little bit of a shock, actually," Williams described.
Williams managed to stay connected to Massachusetts while she was in space. In August, she ran the Falmouth Road Race from a treadmill on the space station. The race is seven miles long and has roughly 12,000 other runners.
