Sunita Williams, stuck in space for 237 days, tried to ‘remember what it is like to walk’

Astronaut Sunita Williams, who has been stranded at the International Space Station since June 2024, said that she is trying to remember how to walk as she awaits her return to Earth in spring, reported People Magazine.

Williams, a Needham native herself, spoke to students from Needham High School on January 27 and revealed what it was like living at the space station.

She said, “I’ve been up here long enough right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk. I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down. You don’t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here,” reported People quoting WBZ-TV.

Williams also told students that she hadn’t expected for her and fellow NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore to be stuck in space for such a long time, stating that it was a “bit of shock”.

“We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different,” she said.

The 59-year-old has been trapped in space along with 61-year-old Wilmore after their spacecraft experienced mechanical issues and had to be sent back home without them.

Williams and Wilmore are expected back on Earth in spring, with NASA stating that the spacecraft that will bring them home won’t be ready for launch anytime before late March 2025.

The Dragon capsule meant to take Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore home arrived at the ISS in late September 2024. NASA had previously said that it was collaborating with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX to “complete processing” on the Dragon spacecraft for the mission.

“We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in December 2024.