After being rescued following 285 days in space, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore’s daughter reacts to the return of the astronauts to Earth.
NASA astronauts return to Earth after being trapped in space for nine months instead of eight days
Barry Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were originally expected to spend just eight days on the ISS.
However, their mission extended to over nine months due to technical failures.
Their return was delayed due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
The vehicle, which had thruster failures and helium leaks, was deemed too risky for a return flight.
NASA ultimately decided to bring them back aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which landed safely in Florida on Tuesday evening.
NASA astronaut’s daughter expresses frustration over delays in space return
On social media, the daughter of astronaut Butch Wilmore appeared to express frustration over NASA’s handling of her father’s extended mission.
In a resurfaced TikTok post from January, Butch Wilmore’s daughter, Daryn Wilmore, 19, suggested that NASA’s “incompetence” was to blame for the delays.
Someone commented, ‘I’m so sorry NASA is actually evil…’ to which Daryn replied: ‘Less evil more… incompetent.’
In a February video, she further hinted that “politics” and “negligence” played a role in her father’s prolonged stay on the International Space Station (ISS).
Following her father’s return, Butch Wilmore’s daughter, Daryn spoke to DailyMail.com. She acknowledged that “some mess-ups” had contributed to the situation.
Additionally, she also explained that while NASA made the safest decision to delay the return, various internal factors led to the extended mission.
She said: ‘I really just meant that there was different things within the company that led to the decision of them staying, which was a good decision and the safest one.’
‘I don’t know much as I do not actively work at NASA, but the people there work hard and even though there was definitely some mess-ups with this Starliner mission, there was a lot of wins.’ Daryn added.
NASA and SpaceX’s role in the rescue
In August, NASA determined that Starliner was unsafe for the astronauts’ return.
The spacecraft was sent back to Earth uncrewed in September, leaving Wilmore and Williams to wait for an alternative return plan.
In January, former President Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration, claiming that the astronauts had been “virtually abandoned.” He said he had urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to “go get” them.
Following the pressure, NASA and SpaceX moved up the Crew-9 return flight by two weeks.
On Tuesday, the Crew-9 Dragon capsule splashed down off the Florida coast.
It carried Wilmore, Williams, and two additional astronauts, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Upon landing, recovery crews helped each astronaut onto stretchers. This is standard practice due to the muscle loss experienced in microgravity.
The returning astronauts will undergo medical tests to assess the effects of extended space travel, including radiation exposure, weight loss, and cardiovascular changes.
Wilmore and Williams’ prolonged stay highlights the challenges of long-duration space missions.
It also emphasizes the importance of reliable spacecraft for astronaut safety.