Stranded astronaut Butch Wilmore has revealed what he believes truly ‘saved’ him from his nine month stay on board the International Space Station (ISS), and it’s neither a space agency or the government that brought him back.

Wilmore embarked on an expedition to the ISS last June, and was only planned to spend eight days on board with his fellow NASA astronaut Suni Williams.

However, issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft meant that this stay became delayed, and a long 285 days later they both finally returned to Earth in an ordeal that even drew the attention of US President Donald Trump.

Butch Wilmore thankfully returned safely following an unexpected nine month stay in space (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was urged by President Trump to ‘go get’ the pair as soon as possible, and while last minute technical issues threatened to continue the delays, they finally landed back on Earth on March 18, splashing into the ocean off the coast of Florida near some unlikely visitors.

While Wilmore personally thanked President Trump for his efforts in bringing the pair back, and seemed to bizarrely confirm Elon Musk’s claims that the delay was the fault of the Biden administration, he’s since revealed the one key thing that ‘saved’ him from the unfortunately circumstances he found himself within.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Wilmore has attributed his resolve to his faith, outlining that while his situation wasn’t ideal, “it all works out for those that will believe.

“It’s bound in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ he is working out his plan and his purposes for his glory throughout all of humanity and how that plays into our lives is significant and important,” illustrated Wilmore.

Prior to his successful return home, Wilmore also explained: “However [God’s plan] plays out, I am content because I understand that. I understand that He’s at work in all things, some things are for the good, go to Hebrews 11, some things look to us to be not so good but it all works out for his good for those that will believe.”

Wilmore and his family have outlined how their faith helped them cope with his situation (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Both Wilmore and his family are devout Christians, and have relayed how their faith helped them to remain confident and strong throughout his extended absence in space.

“We’re not saying this means that nothing bad will happen or the Starliner will bring Barry home safely,” indicated Wilmore’s wife Deanna in reference to her religious beliefs, “but whatever the Lord does will be for our good and for His glory.”

‘Stranded’ NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams reveals heartbreaking ‘hardest part’ of being stuck in space

Spending months in space might sound like the ultimate adventure, but for NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, the experience came with an unexpected emotional toll.

Williams, who was only supposed to be on an eight-day mission, has now been in space for over 270 days after a series of technical failures left her and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore stranded on the International Space Station (ISS).

Responding to a press question from the ISS on as part of a pre-departure news conference, from 6:06 in the video above: Williams revealed: “the hardest part of being stuck in space wasn’t the weightlessness or the isolation — it was the uncertainty of when she’d be able to come home”.

“The hardest part is having the folks on the ground not know exactly when we’re coming back. It’s been a rollercoaster for them – probably more so than for us,” she added.

Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5, 2024, for what was supposed to be a quick trip to the ISS. But things quickly went south when the spacecraft experienced multiple technical failures.

NASA later deemed it too unsafe to bring them back, forcing the astronauts to stay aboard the station while alternative plans were made. Starliner was eventually sent back to Earth without them in September, leaving them quite literally without a ride home.

Now, after months of uncertainty, NASA has confirmed that the two astronauts will finally return to Earth on March 19 or 20. But instead of Boeing bringing them back, they’ll be catching a lift with Elon Musk’s SpaceX on the Crew-9 return flight.

SpaceX & Tesla CEO, Elon Musk (Getty Images)

The extended stay has sparked major controversy back on Earth, with Elon Musk suggesting that the delay was politically motivated. Former US President Donald Trump echoed the claims, accusing the Biden administration of deliberately holding them in space longer than necessary.

Despite the swirling speculation, Williams and Wilmore have largely avoided getting dragged into the politics of it all. When asked about the controversy, Williams simply responded, “We know what we’ve lived up here. We have the utmost respect for everyone trying to get us home.”

Wilmore, however, admitted that he and Williams have been kept in the dark regarding the politics of their situation. Referring to Musk’s claim, he said: “That’s information that we simply don’t have, so I believe him”.

For now, the focus remains on getting the astronauts back safely. After spending nearly a year in space, their long-awaited return is finally in sight.

Exact time ‘stuck’ NASA astronauts will touch down on Earth after 9 months in space

After successfully undocking from the International Space Station this morning, we finally have an exact time that ‘stranded’ NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will land back on Earth after their nine month mission.

Technical delays left Williams and Wilmore ‘stuck’ on board the International Space Station (ISS) for 285 days in what was only supposed to be an 8 day venture.

Not only did the Boeing Starliner ship that they flew to the ISS in suffer issues, meaning that it had to return to Earth unmanned, but the SpaceX rocket that would then allow them to fly back home also fell victim to issues that seemed to persist until moments before takeoff.

Williams and Wilmore departed from the ISS on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft this morning (YouTube/NASA)

US President Donald Trump has made it a priority to bring the pair back home since returning to office in January, ordering SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk to ‘go get’ them both, and both have also insisted that the blame lies with the former Biden administration.

Regardless of these claims though the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket finally made it to the ISS on March 16, allowing the Crew-10 astronauts to undergo the necessary handover process with Williams and Wilmore, allowing them to begin their journey back home.

As reported by Al Jazeera, the Crew-10 Dragon ship finally departed from the International Space Station at 1:05 a.m. EST this morning, as shown in a livestream from NASA on YouTube.

Current estimates indicate that the ship will begin its deorbit burn at around 5:11 p.m. EST, and shortly after it will splash into the ocean off the coast of Florida at roughly 5:57 p.m. EST. (21:57 GMT)

It will then take about an hour for the crew – including both Williams and Wilmore alongside Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov – to be retrieved from the ocean, and the entire process will once again be livestreamed on YouTube, starting at 4:45 p.m. EST.

While the astronauts will understandably be desperate to return to their families, which is something they’ve made clear to be a priority for them, it’s unfortunately going to be a challenging return to normal life after spending so much time in space.

They will be immediately stretchered off to a medical facility where they will spend six weeks in physical rehabilitation. This is due to the dangerous reduction in muscle mass and bone density that living for a lengthy period of time in low gravity causes, as your body – including your heart – has to work far less as it’s not being constantly dragged down.

They will undergo a number of cancer related screenings as a precaution due to the work that Williams and Wilmore conducted surrounding ultrasounds and radiation, as they could be under significant risk.

Specialist reveals what ‘stranded’ NASA astronauts were likely eating to survive in space after 8-day trip lasted 9 months

The world continues its obsession with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

While the former reiterates they weren’t ‘stranded’ aboard the International Space Station, the fact their eight-day mission turned into a nine-month stay became global news.

President Donald Trump called for Elon Musk to ‘go get’ them, with the pair putting pressure on NASA to push the Crew-10 relief mission forward.

Even that faced delays, as a planned March 12 launch was called off due to a hydraulics issue. A second launch was scuppered by adverse weather conditions, but finally, the Crew Dragon spacecraft blasted off on March 14, 2025.

Having docked with the ISS on March 16, there was a brief handover before Williams, Wilmore, and Crew-9’s Nick Hague Aleksandr and Gorbunov made the 17-hour journey back to Earth.

As the media descends on the personal lives of Williams and Wilmore, the same two questions keep being asked: How do you go to the toilet on the ISS and what do you eat?

Back when Yuri Gagarin was the first human to make it into space in 1961, many were disgusted to learn he consumed two tubes of beef and liver purée, followed by a tube of chocolate sauce for dessert.

Pizza is sure to be a favorite on the ISS (Instagram / @ISS)

It’s safe to say that astronaut diets have come a long way since then, and although there were concerns about the seemingly dramatic weight loss of Williams, NASA reiterated astronauts are on tightly controlled diets and constantly monitored.

You might be surprised to learn that you can still get some of your favorite food up there, and while it might not quite be a Double Decadence from Domino’s, the New York Post explained how Williams and Wilmore were able to eat pizza some 250 miles above us.

You can enjoy a cup of coffee up there, while the astronauts even tucked into a Thanksgiving banquet together.

One specialist familiar with the Starliner mission confirmed that while their intake of fresh produce is limited, their diets include the likes of breakfast cereal with powdered milk, roast chicken, and even shrimp cocktails.

Meals are developed at Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the ISS stocking around 3.8 pounds of food for each astronaut, per day. Thankfully, there’s an additional stockpile for extended missions like Williams and Wilmore’s.

Meals are catered to each individual, ensuring they have enough calories, then reheated in the ISS’ food warmer.

Still, fresh food is in short supply due to limited deliveries. It’s not a case of going on Amazon and ordering up a bushel of apples. As the specialist explained: “There’s fresh fruit at first, but as the three months continues that goes away — and their fruits and vegetables are packaged or freeze-dried.”

Meat and eggs are pre-cooked on Earth, while dehydrated soups and stews are made with the station’s 530-gallon fresh water tank. Then again, making soup with your own recycled urine isn’t for everyone.

NASA continues to innovate with what we can consume in space, and while alcohol still isn’t allowed on the ISS and 2019 experiment saw a special Zero G Kitchen oven sent up there and let astronauts bake cookies in space.

Currently, neither Williams nor Wilmore have confirmed what space pizza tastes like.

NASA reveals what’s next in store for ‘stranded’ astronauts following return to Earth after nine months in space

After spending over nine months in space you’d feel like you deserve a bit of a break, but things are far from over for ‘stranded’ astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, as NASA has revealed what’s next for the pair.

Williams and Wilmore was the victims of an unfortunate collection of technical issues, starting first with the Boeing Starliner that they flew into outer space in.

Shortly after reaching the International Space Station it was understood that the Starliner suffered issues with various leaks, faulty thrusters, and a valve that failed to close, leading to the ship returning to Earth unmanned for repairs.

They were then waiting for the SpaceX Crew-10 mission to change over with them, as NASA protocol requires there to always be an astronaut present on the iSS, with the previous team performing a handover so there are no gaps in information.

The SpaceX Crew-9 ship returned to Earth on March 18, landing into the ocean off the coast of Florida (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

This led to them staying on board the ISS for a staggering 285 days – 277 days more than they were initially planned to be there – and they thankfully landed safely off the coast of Florida on Wednesday evening after a lengthy 17-hour journey from space.

Unfortunately for the astronauts who likely want to just return to normal life at this point, they had to be immediately stretchered off to a medical facility as spending time in space can have significant effects on your body, especially your muscle mass and bone density.

Concerning photos shortly after their landing also indicate that time at the medical facility is necessary for one of the pair, although both Williams and Wilmore, alongside their fellow astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, were seen walking without assistance.

In terms of what’s next, they’ll now spend around six weeks at the aforementioned medical facility undergoing a ‘brutal’ physical rehabilitation program that will restore their muscles to a ‘normal’ state and allow them to readjust to living with gravity which can affect even basic human functions like walking.

It can take at least a few weeks before they’ll be medically ready for life on Earth again, but former astronauts have illustrated that it can take several months and even over a year in some cases before you begin to feel ‘normal’ again – especially after longer stays in space.

One major relief is that soon after they’ll be finally allowed to go home to their families and relax, as per Sky News, and while Williams has described the ISS as her ‘happy place’ there’s no doubt that she’ll be delighted to finally be back home.

For Williams at the very least this will also likely mark her last visit into outer space, as she was saddened to reveal the fact in the days prior to her return home.

“I don’t want to lose that spark of inspiration when I leave,” Suni detailed in an interview with the BBC, “so I’m going to have to bottle it somehow.”

Despite their nine month stay on the ISS being far beyond the recommended maximum of six months, Williams and Wilmore still didn’t come close to one other American astronaut who spend nearly 100 days longer in space than the pair.