NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams docked with the International Space Station aboard the Boeing Starliner on June 6.
NASA
Texas A&M University Vice President Col. Michael E. Fossum describes NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as former military pilots who know how to take on a mission – “even the changes that occur along the way.”
The two astronauts traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) in June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft. It was a short test mission. More than two months after their scheduled return to Earth, Williams and Wilmore are still on the ISS because the Starliner experienced numerous technical problems and propulsion system malfunctions before it could dock with the space station.
NASA is expected to announce a decision on a return plan soon – possibly using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
Fossum is a former astronaut who attended the same NASA astronaut training course in 1998 as Williams and met Wilmore when he joined two years later. Watching the news from Earth, Fossum said he was concerned for his friends’ safety but confident NASA would find a solution to bring Williams and Wilmore home safely.
“They’re just going to take the situation and see what happens,” Fossum said. “My thoughts are with their families … but both Butch and Suni were military personnel. Their families are used to dealing with deployments and NASA. Things happen, the crew is safe right now and I trust NASA is doing the right thing to get them home safely.”
Fossum is confident the mission will be a success and hopes his friends will enjoy the extra time they can spend in space.
“I know them really well, and I think they were a little disappointed that they were in space for such a short time,” Fossum said. “It’s a big deal to be the first people to crew a brand new spacecraft. So they’re excited, and both have done long-duration missions on the space station before. They’ve been up there for six months before, and they both loved it, so they were ready to go again.”
Michael E. Fossum works in the cargo bay of space shuttle Discovery during the third and final spacewalk of the mission on July 13, 2006. Fossum spent 7 hours and 11 minutes outside the space shuttle and the International Space Station demonstrating repair techniques for the orbiter’s heat shields.
NASA via Getty Images
Life on board the International Space Station
Fossum was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in 1980 after earning a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University. He joined the university after retiring from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 2017 and currently serves as vice president of Texas A&M University, chief operating officer of the Galveston campus, and superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy.
As a veteran of three space flights who spent a total of more than 194 days in space during his 19 years as an astronaut (including more than 48 hours on seven spacewalks), Fossum knows what Williams and Wilmore’s days aboard the ISS are likely to look like.
“How does the crew change their mentality? I think it happened very quickly, actually,” he said. “They’re professionals and they know that there are a lot of things at play here and that there’s always a lot of work to do on the space station. There’s a backlog of these different investigations and we’re always short of people who can swing a wrench and help install equipment and swap samples for the different experiments up there.”
NASA Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
NASA
According to Fossum, astronauts aboard the ISS also act as “guinea pigs” for research into the effects of long-term space flights on the human body, so Williams and Wilmore will undoubtedly contribute to this scientific mission.
Fossum describes Williams and Wilmore as “fitness freaks” who are dedicated to their health and are likely making full use of the exercise equipment on the ISS to avoid losing bone or muscle mass. Since they are two experienced astronauts who know the importance of regular exercise, he doubts they will return to Earth with any physical changes.
As for supplies, the ISS always has a supply of food, oxygen and other things to survive the crew’s unexpectedly long stay. And astronauts don’t use a lot of clothing, Fossum points out. The temperature on the ISS is about 21 to 22 degrees Celsius with very little humidity, so astronauts don’t sweat much unless they’re exercising.
“You put on workout clothes and then they get soaked with sweat because the sweat doesn’t come off. It sticks to you,” he said. “It’s very strange when you first see it. We don’t have a washing machine up there either, so you really wear the clothes until it’s time to throw them away.”
Return to Earth
Fossum said the goal now is to complete the mission safely.
“I’m sure Suni and Butch are briefed on the details. There are ongoing meetings and I’m very sure they’re talking to the administrators and the NASA leaders within the space station program,” he said. “This was a test mission, but sometimes the answer in testing is that you have something you need to fix. Testing doesn’t always prove that everything worked perfectly, and that’s the case here.”
Until NASA organizes the astronauts’ journey home, Fossum hopes that his friends will make the most of their extra time in space.
“I know how much you have enjoyed your missions to the space station so far. You are enjoying it,” he said. “I look forward to seeing you safely back on Earth when you return home.”
