Stranded NASA Astronaut Says She’s Forgotten How To walk

Spending eight months in space might sound like the ultimate adventure, but for NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, it’s starting to feel like a long-haul delay with no ETA. Originally meant to spend just eight days on the International Space Station (ISS), Williams and her crewmate Barry Wilmore have been stuck in orbit since June 2024 due to Boeing’s Starliner capsule failing to bring them home. Now, Williams admits she’s even forgotten what it feels like to walk.

“I’ve been up here long enough, right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk,” Williams said in a video call with students at Needham High School in Massachusetts. “I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down.”

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The situation is starting to attract political attention, with former President Donald Trump calling out the delay. “The two brave astronauts were virtually abandoned by the Biden administration,” he posted on social media, urging SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to step in. “Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!” Musk responded, assuring that he would “retrieve Wilmore and Sunita Williams as soon as possible.”

What Went Wrong?

Williams and Wilmore’s mission took a turn when the Boeing Starliner capsule that brought them to the ISS started experiencing major malfunctions, including helium leaks and thruster failures. NASA ultimately deemed the spacecraft unfit to bring them back to Earth. Instead, they were assigned a ride home on SpaceX’s Crew-9 capsule—currently docked to the ISS—but that mission has now been delayed until at least late March.

NASA explained that Crew-9 can’t return until Crew-10 arrives, and SpaceX is still prepping that launch. “NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions,” the agency said in a statement to DailyMail.com.

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The Physical Toll of Space

Microgravity isn’t exactly kind to the human body. NASA warns that extended time in space causes muscle and bone loss, and Williams’ struggles to remember how to walk are not uncommon. The agency states that astronauts lose about 1% of their bone density each month in microgravity, and muscles weaken due to lack of use.

When astronauts return from long missions, they often need weeks of physical therapy just to regain normal movement. Williams and Wilmore will have been in space for eight months by the time they return—two months longer than a standard long-term ISS mission.

Stranded astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams. Image Courtesy of Daily Mail

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Could SpaceX Bring Them Home Sooner?

Following Trump’s comments, some speculated that Musk might speed up the process. Astrophysicist Scott Manley outlined two possible options:

1. Launch Crew-10 earlier – This would allow Crew-9 to return home sooner. However, SpaceX hasn’t indicated that it can accelerate the mission timeline.
2. Send Crew-9 home before Crew-10 arrives – This would break NASA’s usual protocol, which requires astronauts to overlap for a smooth handover. However, Russian Soyuz astronauts could temporarily fill the gap.

Despite the political noise, Manley also suggested Musk’s response could simply be “trolling,” with no actual changes to NASA’s planned schedule.

For now, Williams and Wilmore remain in limbo, floating 250 miles above Earth, waiting for their ride home. Their mission may be dragging on, but at least they won’t break the record—NASA astronaut Frank Rubio still holds the title for the longest continuous time in space at 371 days.