Why were NASA astronauts ‘stuck’ in space?

What in the World

• Episode: Why were NASA astronauts ‘stuck’ in space?
• Website: What in the World
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/w13xtvrv.rss
• Duration: 00:13:47
• Published: 2025-03-19 15:30

Imagine going on a work or school trip for eight days, but ending up away from home for nine months. Now, imagine that journey was to space. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s spacecraft launched in June last year from Cape Canaveral in Florida. They were taking part in the first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft, developed by Boeing. But there were some technical problems after launch and NASA decided it was too risky to use it to take the astronauts back to Earth. Instead, Suni and Butch would catch the next scheduled flight home, which ended up being nine months later. And now Suni and Butch have splashed down off the coast of Florida in a different spacecraft.

Our Science Editor, Rebecca Morelle, explains what went wrong with the mission, if they were really stranded, and what daily life is actually like in space.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler and Elena Angelides Editor: Verity Wilde