US astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have revealed their first reactions after learning their week-long test flight was about to turn into a nine-month space odyssey.
“My first thought was, we just got to pivot, right?,” Williams, 59, said in a sitdown interview with Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
“I was like, ‘OK, let’s make the best of it.’ We planned, we trained that we’d be there for some part of a time, so we were ready to just jump into it and take on the tasks that were given to us.”
Wilmore, 62, who missed most of his daughter’s senior year of high school due to the ordeal, said he pushed his own feelings aside in order to focus on “national goals.”
“It’s not about me, it’s not about my feelings,” Wilmore said. “It’s about what this human space flight program is about. It’s our national goals.
“I have to wrap myself, my mind, around ‘what does the nation need out of me right now?’ Did I think about not being there for my daughter’s high school year, of course… certainly, deal with the personal side of it, but I can’t let that interfere with what I’m called to do.”
The pair spoke out after making a dramatic return to Earth from the International Space Station back on March 18 after spending a total of 286 days in space — a staggering 278 days longer than anticipated.
The NASA duo had set off on what was supposed to be an eight-day test flight on Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft last June.
Their unplanned jaunt quickly captured the world’s attention and gave new meaning to the phrase “stuck at work” — turning the pair into household names.
President Trump, who last week vowed to personally cover overtime pay for the veteran astronauts, has already said he wants to welcome the pair to the White House when they’ve fully recovered.
The president and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have long blamed former President Joe Biden for leaving the pair of astronauts stuck in space for so long.
Asked about Trump and Musk’s interest in space exploration, Williams said he had “no reason” not to believe them.
“They’ve earned my trust, and for that, I am grateful that our national leaders actually are coming in and taking part in our human space flight program,” he said.
“It is hugely important [of] global significance that they take an active role. Based on the past and what we see now with them doing that, it is refreshing, not just refreshing, it’s empowering. It’s strengthening.”