Stranded astronaut’s mother not worried about Boeing’s issues in space

The mother of one of the NASA astronauts stranded onboard the International Space Station (ISS) says it’s “better to be safe than sorry.” The Boeing spacecraft that brought her daughter to space has been deemed too risky to return astronaut Sunita Williams to earth.

In an interview with TMZ, Bonnie Pandya expressed a much calmer demeanor than one might expect despite recent news her daughter will be forced to remain in space along with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, until 2025. Pandya said her daughter is doing fine and explained it’s all just part of the job, adding, “I’m a mother of an astronaut. She’s been an astronaut for 20 years. I understand all these things, so it’s not bothering me too much.”

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Williams and Wilmore were supposed to be on an eight-day mission to the ISS in June. However, in recent weeks, NASA announced that thruster failures and a helium leak onboard their Boeing-made space capsule would force them to stay in space longer.

“There were two accidents with the shuttle already,” Pandya said. “I wouldn’t want that to happen to my daughter or anybody else for that matter.”

Subsequent tests of the Starliner’s maneuvering thrusters proved successful and found helium leaks in the propulsion system are now stable, but NASA concluded there is no way to prove the capsule will re-enter the earth’s atmosphere safely. This week, NASA announced Boeing rival SpaceX will send a spacecraft to rescue Williams and Wilmore, most likely in February.

During her interview, Pandya said she has become used to delays and time changes after Starliner’s launch was delayed and rescheduled three separate times. She also pointed out to TMZ that her daughter’s friend, astronaut Frank Rubio, also experienced an unexpected delay on his mission and was forced to remain in space longer than anticipated.

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Pandya, who calls her daughter her best friend, downplayed any notion this incident is turning into a mother’s nightmare.

“This is what they do. She loves going to space. She says it’s very, very rewarding when you’re up there and you’re looking down on the planet and see everything,” she added. “She’s not sad at all. She knows maybe this will be her last time up there, so she’s happy to be up there.”

Luke Duecy is a reporter for KIRO Newsradio.