Boeing Starliner Crew Talks About The 9-Month Stay Aboard the International Space Station
sThe Boeing Starkuber crew, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, recently gave their first interview on Fox News after returning to Earth following an unexpected nine-month stay in space.
Originally planned as an eight-day test mission, it was extended due to technical issues with the astronauts’ capsule, which made it unsafe for their return. The astronauts were brought back earlier this month via SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The NASA astronauts—who officially made their return to Earth on March 18 after spending nine months in space once their mission went awry—are speaking out for the first time about their expedition.”My first thought was we’ve just got to pivot,” Williams said in an interview with Fox News’ America’s Newsroom that aired March 31 of learning about their delay. “If our spacecraft was going to go home based on decisions made here, and we were going to be up there ’til February, I was like, ‘Let’s make the best of it.'”In fact, Williams noted she was “excited” when it came to spending in even more in space than initially planned. “I’m honored,” she explained of the mission, “to be a little part of it.”
Williams shared the food she craved the most while she was in space.
The astronaut said that more than anything, she’d been craving a simple reminder of home; a grilled cheese sandwich. “My father was a vegetarian so I had a good grilled cheese sandwich when I got home. That reminded me of him,” she said after being asked what food she most wanted in space.She said that the first thing she had wanted to do after landing was, “hug my husband and hug my dogs. And I’ll say in that order,” she added, jokingly.Wilmore added that embracing his family again had also been the top of his list after landing, as well as getting “the opportunity to just say thank you.”
I have to say, a good grilled cheese sandwich can be out-of-this-world.
When they landed, concerns about Williams’ health were raised, as she looked particularly thin and potentially unwell. However, she and Wimore are recovering well from their extended space stay.
But Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran, told DailyMail.com that Williams’ face looked fuller, less sunken when she and Wilmore gave their first interview today on Fox News today.’It looks like she just has gotten better sleep,’ he added. ‘She’s back on level ground. Her metabolism is normalizing to sort of normal gravity.’,,,’She’s probably just eating healthier and is able to sort of modulate and gain back some weight,’ the doctor continued. ‘I think two weeks has probably been sufficient to look just healthier.’Williams and Wilmore spoke later during a NASA press conference where she even said her recovery has been ‘miraculous.’
Clearly, the science now suggests that grilled cheese is medicinal.
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