Earth is going to have to wait a little longer before astronaut Sunita Williams returns — the spacecraft set to bring her and others back has been delayed, and is now set to launch no earlier than late March.
In Needham on Wednesday, students at Sunita Williams Elementary celebrated Sunita Williams Day, and kids and their parents were reminded of the 59-year-old astronaut still stuck in space.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
"She is coming back on Feb. 4," grade-schooler Cecilia Fritz said.
That was the plan, but Williams' return date is now up in the air — again.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our >News Headlines newsletter.
NASA's recently announced target of late March is meant to give "NASA and Space-X teams time to complete processing on a new dragon spacecraft for the mission," the agency said in a statement.
"That's a lot of days to be up in space," elementary school student Emily Rose noted.
"I can't think of one that went from two weeks to over a year," said retired astronaut Michael Massimino. But he added, "I think there's always that possibility that they may end up extending their mission."
Massimino is confident in Williams and the rest of the crew being "mentally prepared to do whatever was going to be required of them, and they've been doing that," he said.
What was meant to be a week-long test flight in June has turned to a monthslong saga in space, with what will now to be 10 months for Williams confined to the International Space Station.
With its solar panel wings, the ISS spans as an entire football field, but the living space is much smaller — there's six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, one gym and a 360-degree bay window.
Springfield Museums in western Massachusetts has replicas of the sleeping quarters and toilets. Although they're tight, Science Director Jenny Powers said, astronauts have trained to spend long periods of time in the ISS.
"It's much harder when it's not planned for," said Powers. "But I can't imagine that there's an astronaut that isn't thrilled to be out in space … knowing what you're doing for humanity sustains you through those trying times."
"I know she's a professional she can deal with this. She's a strong woman," Needham school parent Marina Hakkin said.
It's that faith from those back on Earth that makes living in space more bearable for astronauts, especially during the holidays.
"Hope that she will make it home safely and soon," Simon Hakkin said.
Williams has now surpassed her previous record of 195 straight days in space.
"We miss you. Happy holidays!" said Needham students Asaf and Noam Gabay, wishing Williams a safe return, whenever that may be.
