Two Navy test pilots, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are the astronauts chosen to extend their stay at the International Space Station. They have been at the space station with seven others since early June, awaiting word on their return to Earth. NASA announced that they will not be returning in the troubled Boeing capsule but will wait for SpaceX to take them back in late February, elongating their mission to over eight months from the original eight days planned for the test flight.
Butch Wilmore, aged 61, hails from Mount Juliet, Tennessee, and has a background as a Navy test pilot with more than 8,000 hours of flying time and 663 aircraft carrier landings. Married with two daughters, Wilmore is also an elder at his Baptist church in Houston. Suni Williams, 58, is the first woman to serve as a test pilot for a new spacecraft. She has a diverse background, having grown up in Needham, Massachusetts, and served in a Navy helicopter squadron during the Gulf War buildup. Williams has flown two missions to the International Space Station and performed seven spacewalks overall.
Wilmore and Williams have each played significant roles in various space missions and have displayed exceptional courage and adaptability in the face of unexpected challenges. Their loved ones, accustomed to the uncertainties of their spacefaring professions, are providing support from afar as the astronauts continue their extended stay aboard the space station.
