Kozhikode: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who announced her retirement after a 27-year career recently, said in Kerala that she would have loved to go to space again, but there were some good young astronauts now who are doing “wonderful jobs”.
Sunita is in Kozhikode to take part in the ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival.
“I would love to go to space again, but my husband would kill me. I have some things to do at home,” she said, adding that she was excited to see the work of new astronauts, as reported by The Indian Express.
The astronaut also spoke about the the nine months when she and her crewmate Butch Wilmore had to stay at the International Space Station due to technical issues with an experimental capsule.
“We were trying to participate in as much as we could, as well as being productive members on th
e space station,” Sunita said.
“We were extra crewmates up there. We were eating a lot of food, and we were using the bathroom quite a bit… So, obviously, food needs to be stocked, and the bathroom needs to be cleaned when all other experiments and other things are going on. These may not be the most glorious jobs up in space, but you need to pitch in and be part of the team,” she added.
“As the summer rolled in, it was becoming more clear that we probably were not going home. Then it’s time to focus on being crew members up there. And it is a team sport. I had to always remember that and remind people that two people were supposed to be on that spacecraft that came and brought us home. They graciously stepped aside and only two seats went up, so there were two empty seats for me and Butch Wilmore to come back. That was a huge event for someone who was training for a number of years to say that I am not going to fly,” she said.
She also referred to India’s space missions, and said: “I am excited for the Indian space programme. Ideas are becoming a reality. I think as they get more and more involved internationally, as well as with their own programme, standing on their own feet, they’re going to go to space before too long.”