Two US astronauts stranded in space for eight months have said it was hard to watch their malfunctioning craft depart the International Space Station

Being left behind was hard, say stranded astronauts

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2024-09-21 19:00:06

Two US astronauts stranded in space for eight months have said it was hard to watch their malfunctioning craft depart the International Space Station without them, but they were happy and trained to "expect the unexpected".

In a press conference on Friday, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore appeared happy and healthy after being told by Nasa to stay onboard the ISS due to potential faults with their Boeing Starliner re-entry vehicle.

They said they were not "comfortable" with some issues on the Starliner, but were still sad to see it leave the station and return to Earth without them this week.

The pair thanked people for sending them messages and prayers. "The concern for us specifically is very heart-warming," Mr Wilmore said.

The pair left Earth in June for an eight-day mission to test Boeing Starliner's capsule. Engineers noticed problems with its thrusters and a helium leak, and Nasa decided to keep Ms Williams, 58, and Mr Wilmore, 61, on the ISS until 2025.