‘Trying to remember what it’s like to walk’: Sunita Williams tells students at her alma mater

‘Trying to remember what it’s like to walk’: Sunita Williams tells students at her alma mater

Astronaut Sunita Williams, stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024, has spoken out about some of the things she hasn’t done in months. Speaking to Needham High School students from the ISS, Williams shared that she’s forgotten what it’s like to walk. The Indian-origin astronaut graduated from Needham High School in 1983.

“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,” CBS News quoted her speaking.

Williams and Butch Wilmore were supposed to be on an eight-day mission, but technical issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft left them stranded for over seven months. Williams added that she and Wilmore were expecting their trip to be longer than eight days; however, they did not expect it to be delayed that long.

“It was a little bit of a shock, actually. We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different,” she added.

The 59-year-old said she was having a good time in space and was grateful for the opportunity to share her experiences with everyone back on Earth.

“My mother’s getting a little bit older, so in that regard, I just try to stay in touch with them and those guys as much as possible. I think I talk to my mom practically every day. Just check in with her and call her and see how she’s doing. So, it’s just a little bit different relationship than we had potentially planned on for the last couple of months. But we’re managing,” Williams was quoted as saying by CBS News.

The astronauts celebrated several holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and even voted in the 2024 US elections from space. Williams and Wilmore are expected to return to Earth in the spring. The spacecraft that will bring them home won’t be ready to launch anytime before late March 2025. The Dragon capsule meant to take the astronauts home arrived at the ISS in September 2024.

NASA is working with SpaceX to get the capsule ready for the mission. “We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

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