LIFE
The two NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, set to spend additional months aboard the International Space Station are seasoned Navy test pilots familiar with extended missions. They have been stationed there since early June alongside seven other crew members, awaiting confirmation on how and when they will return to Earth. On Saturday, NASA confirmed that instead of returning on Boeing’s troubled capsule, they’ll wait for a SpaceX flight in late February, extending their mission to over eight months—far beyond their originally planned eight-day test flight. Barry E. Wilmore Barry E. Wilmore, also known as Butch Wilmore, 61, grew up in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, excelling in football during high school and later at Tennessee Technological University. After joining the Navy, he became a test pilot, accumulating over 8,000 flight hours and completing 663 aircraft carrier landings. He flew combat missions during the 1991 Gulf War and was a flight test instructor when NASA selected him as an astronaut in 2000. Wilmore first travelled to the International Space Station in 2009 aboard shuttle Atlantis, delivering crucial spare parts. Five years later, he spent six months on the station, launched by a Russian Soyuz and completing four spacewalks. A dedicated family man and elder at his Houston-area Baptist church, Wilmore has participated in prayer services from orbit. His wife Deanna and their two daughters have become accustomed to the challenges and unpredictability of his career. “This is all they know,” Wilmore remarked before the mission. Sunita Williams Suni Williams, 58, is the first woman to serve as a test pilot for a new spacecraft. She grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, the youngest of three children born to an Indian-born brain researcher and a Slovene American health care worker. Initially considering a career in science or veterinary medicine, Williams shifted her focus to aviation after joining the Naval Academy. She served in a Navy helicopter squadron overseas during the military buildup for the Gulf War before being selected by NASA in 1998. With her diverse background, Williams eagerly embraced the opportunity to work in Russia supporting the then-new International Space Station. She first visited the station in 2006 aboard shuttle Discovery, where she ended up staying 6.5 months—longer than planned—due to hail damage that grounded her return flight. In 2012, she returned to the station as commander. Williams has completed seven spacewalks across her missions, run the Boston Marathon on a treadmill in space, and even competed in a triathlon, adapting an exercise machine for the swim portion. Her husband, Michael Williams, a retired U.S. Marshal and former Naval aviator, is caring for their dogs in Houston, while her widowed mother remains concerned. “I’m her baby daughter, so I think she’s always worried,” Williams said before launching. None
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