Stranded Astronauts Make First Public Statement Since Being Left Behind On ISS (www.cbc.ca) 43
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC News: Stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them. It was their first public comments since last week's return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June. They remained behind after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in. "That's how it goes in this business," said Williams, adding that "you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity."
Wilmore and Williams are now full-fledged station crew members, chipping in on routine maintenance and experiments. They, along with seven others on board, welcomed a Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American earlier this week, temporarily raising the station population to 12, a near record. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spoke to the press on Friday for the first time since their Boeing Starliner capsule returned to Earth without them. The two, who have been on the International Space Station since June 6, said they are taking the mission's unexpected extension into 2025 in stride -- even if it means they've had to change their voting plans. The transition to station life was "not that hard" since both had previous stints there, said Williams, who will soon take over as station commander. "This is my happy place. I love being up here in space," she said.
The two Starliner test pilots -- both retired U.S. navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts — will stay at the orbiting laboratory until late February. They have to wait for a SpaceX capsule to bring them back. That spacecraft is due to launch later this month with a reduced crew of two, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams for the return leg. The duo said they appreciated all the prayers and well wishes from strangers back home. Wilmore said he will miss out on family milestones such as being around for his youngest daughter's final year of high school. The astronauts, who prepared for eight days in space, will now be up there for eight months, which could have a greater impact on the body. "It is a bit of a change from a sprint to a marathon," said Dr. Adam Sirek of the Canadian Society of Aerospace Medicine.
Wilmore and Williams are now full-fledged station crew members, chipping in on routine maintenance and experiments. They, along with seven others on board, welcomed a Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American earlier this week, temporarily raising the station population to 12, a near record. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spoke to the press on Friday for the first time since their Boeing Starliner capsule returned to Earth without them. The two, who have been on the International Space Station since June 6, said they are taking the mission's unexpected extension into 2025 in stride -- even if it means they've had to change their voting plans. The transition to station life was "not that hard" since both had previous stints there, said Williams, who will soon take over as station commander. "This is my happy place. I love being up here in space," she said.
The two Starliner test pilots -- both retired U.S. navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts — will stay at the orbiting laboratory until late February. They have to wait for a SpaceX capsule to bring them back. That spacecraft is due to launch later this month with a reduced crew of two, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams for the return leg. The duo said they appreciated all the prayers and well wishes from strangers back home. Wilmore said he will miss out on family milestones such as being around for his youngest daughter's final year of high school. The astronauts, who prepared for eight days in space, will now be up there for eight months, which could have a greater impact on the body. "It is a bit of a change from a sprint to a marathon," said Dr. Adam Sirek of the Canadian Society of Aerospace Medicine.
Boeing: This Is Fine (Score:4, Insightful)
Plane crashes (Score:4, Insightful)
>> Boeing valuation is a slow motion train wreck.
Nobody cares about the share price. Those are meant to go up and down.
What matters is that the planes do not crash with people, or on people.
Re: Plane crashes (Score:5, Insightful)
Nobody cares about the share price.
After the merger employees were quite literally told that every decision should factor in how the share price would be affected. That change in mindset is exactly why Boeing are in the shit now.
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Most of their contracts are government-related and that does require aggressive cost cutting to remain competitive against startups that aren't entrenched into government. If governments (not just the US, but it would be a start) were to simply stop maintaining these monopolies and put every contract out for honest bids, this wouldn't be a problem, Boeing would've gone out of business and 3-5 companies from their top engineers would have stood in its place.
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As you do in almost every business. I can currently buy replacement parts for cars that are 100 years old and there are people that maintain aircraft from manufacturers that have likewise gone out of business a long time ago. I'm not sure you are aware, but many parts in an aircraft are manufactured by not-Boeing, Boeing is just putting them together. There are other established companies out there, Cessna and Bombardier (makes the Learjet) to name a few common ones.
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Nobody cares about the share price.
After the merger employees were quite literally told that every decision should factor in how the share price would be affected. That change in mindset is exactly why Boeing are in the shit now.
I find it one of the universe's greatest jokes is that any company focused completely on their share price ends up tanking the share price. It's hysterically on-point in a universe that typically just mehs out on everything.
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I'm not sure where the polling location is for "zooming around at 17,150 miles per hour"
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Their state prohibits mail-in voting.
(Yes, astronauts do have the right to vote. Usually it's done by a mail in ballot - the ballot gets mailed to NASA, and over a confidential radio channel, the astronaut and a trusted person will fill it out. I don't know how they'll sign it though, I guess someone from NASA authenticates that one ballot was filled out by the named person... it's not like we cannot track the handful
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Still, their "voting plans" is completely irrelevant given the context. Why the heck was that ever mentioned?
For some folks, politics is the entire point of existence. They flood themselves with political news, political stories, political social media posts, and in most cases vast quantities of political fictions meant to either give them a warm fuzzy or a righteous anger. They're so steeped in it that every story, no matter what it is, is political. Even that little kid that you saw pick up someone's dropped wallet and hand it back to them would be twisted into some kind of political situation to folks like this
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No state prohibits mail in voting completely. It's just that some states send everyone a mail-in ballot, some don't require a reason, and some require a reason. "Stuck on the ISS" counts as a reason, as does military service.
Obligatory - the Ballad of Boeing Starliner (Score:5, Funny)
Apologies to George Wyle and Sherwood Shwartz
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from Canaveral
Aboard this troubled ship.
The Pilot was a seasoned astronaut,
The Commander was as well.
They expected a trip of just eight days
But got 90 days of hell (so far)
Things went wrong from the very first,
The helium was lost,
Had to throw it into manual
Before the ship could dock, before the ship could dock.
The ship finally returned to ground as empty as can be
Without Williams
Nor Willmore too
The billionaire or his ex-wife,
The Cosmonauts and the rest
Are still on the ISS now!
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I got you!
https://suno.com/song/4e219b0b... [suno.com]
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Haha that is awesome, although not the tune I had in mind.
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Let me know what tune you had in mind, I have plenty of credits there :)
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I suspect there are copyright restrictions on The Ballad of Gilligan's Island.
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I guess there are.
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Are we starting a thing?
--
It is no coincidence that technically inept business types are known as 'suits'. - Paul Graham
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It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, I'm not going to make a career out of this :)
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Or if you don't like that one, here's another.
Puts a smile on your face!
https://suno.com/song/00168e29... [suno.com]
Re: Space walk (Score:5, Informative)
Wrong orbit, wrong altitude, wrong equipment. That little capsule has neither the fuel nor engines powerful enough to get to the ISS while also fulfilling its mission, nor is it even equipped to be able to dock with the ISS. You also can't just whip up custom made suits and seats on a dime. Trying to rush something like this with the correct mission parameters within the time period you're talking about is going to be more dangerous than simply having them ride the Boeing. Space just isn't like the movies kiddo.
Re: Space walk (Score:4, Funny)
Best he could do is a submarine.
King: Other kings said I was daft to send a submarine into outer space, but I sent it all the same! Just sat there, right in the middle of the void. And that blasted thing sank, like a stone in a pond.
Son: It sank? In space?
King: Aye. So I sent another one! This time, I reinforced the hull, made it more buoyant, you know, for space. Well, it launched beautifully... and then it plummeted straight into a black hole.
Son: A black hole!?
King: Oh, yes. But I wasn't discouraged. I sent a third one! This time, extra oxygen tanks, anti-gravity thrusters, all the bells and whistles. It floated for a bit, drifted off into the cosmos... then collided with an asteroid belt and smashed to bits.
Son: So, it sank?
King: Technically, it crumbled... but the fourth one! Oh, the fourth one stayed up! Floats there still, spinning aimlessly through the stars. It may not make sense to anyone, but by the heavens, it's a spaceworthy submarine!
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The weird part about Musk haters is that they also seem to think him a borderline omnipotent demigod. And their main criticism of him is that he's not a fully omnipotent god. As seen above. "Yes he can get amazing products engineered and produced at scale. But during that amazing endeavor, there was this small problem, so..."
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I feel bad for them. (Score:2)
I know they signed up for this but I still feel bad for them not because they are stuck there but because they are being blasted with radiation on a daily basis. People don't think about it but they are being slowly cooked which includes their brains. Nobody takes and extended trip into space without permanent side-effects.
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You are wrong.
Dang, that has to suck (Score:3)
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Being left behind (Score:2)
It turns out that being left behind is a symptom of Boeing left behind.
They said: (Score:2)
We want overtime pay.