Butch Wilmore O Opasnom Poletanju: „Mislio Sam Da Ću Umreti“

Barry "Butch" Wilmore neće zaboraviti trenutak tokom poletanja Starlinera kada su ga preplavile strah i sumorne misli o mogućem gubitku života. U isečku iz svoje nove memoarske knjige Stuck in Space: An Astronaut's Hope Through the Unexpected, Wilmore opisuje paniku koja ga je obuzela kada je Boeingovo plovilo imalo ozbiljne mehaničke probleme, prenosi People.

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"Ne mogu ni da izrazim osećaj straha koji me je na trenutak potpuno preplavio. Jednostavno je neverovatno. Strah nije saveznik u tim trenucima, on je tvoj neprijatelj," napisao je Wilmore.

Sa 63 godine i 25 godina karijere u NASA-i, Wilmore priznaje da su se tokom približavanja Međunarodnoj svemirskoj stanici (ISS) vraćale slike tragedije — posebno seća se ostataka sa katastrofe svemirskog šatla Columbia iz 2003. godine. Ipak, kako piše, takve misli je naučio da „spakuje u fioku“ i fokusira se na zadatke koji su bili pred posadom.

Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images

Wilmore i koleginica Sunita "Suni" Williams su 5. juna 2024. poleteli Starlinerom kompanije Boeing s planom da ostanu na ISS osam dana. Zbog curenja u pogonskom sistemu i kvara na pet potisnika misija je produžena — umesto osam dana, dvojica astronauta ostala su oko devet meseci (286 dana) na stanici.

Two months after their faulty launch, NASA came forward with the debacle of the two astronauts stuck in space. At the time, the space organization was still trying to determine whether the Starliner would be fit for a return to space, and Boeing maintained at the time it should have been, with the company telling E! News in a statement, “If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return.”Meanwhile, former NASA officialScott Hubbardquelled public concern over Wilmore and Williams’ predicament, telling theAssociated Pressthe astronauts—who have each been to space before on prior missions—are only “kind of stuck,” emphasizing that they have “plenty of supplies and work to do.”

Hronologija misije

Jun 2024. Lansiranje Starlinera i prvi izveštaji o "stabilnom i izolovanom curenju" u sistemu za pogon. Tokom leta su se pojavila još četiri curenja i otkazalo je pet potisnika, ali je bezbedno ostvareno dokovanje na ISS.

After NASA confirmed that Williams and Wilmore would return to Earth on a SpaceX mission in February or March, rather than attempting to fix the Starliner, their families spoke out.Wilmore’s wifeDeanna WilmoretoldWVLT in Augustof her family’s predicament, “You just sort of have to roll with it and expect the unexpected."Meanwhile, Williams’ husbandMichaelshared that he didn’t think his wife would be unsettled by spending more time in space, tellingThe Wall Street Journal, “That's her happy place.”

Avgust 2024. NASA javno priznaje probleme sa Starlinerom dok Boeing istovremeno tvrdi da plovilo može biti rekonfigurisano za nebezbedan povratak ako to bude neophodno. Bivši NASA zvaničnik Scott Hubbard pokušava da umiri javnost, navodeći da astronauti imaju dovoljno zaliha.

Just before celebrating six months in space, Williams and Wilmore shared insight into their Thanksgiving celebrations aboard the ISS.“We have a bunch of food that we’ve packed away that is Thanksgiving-ish,” Wiliams toldNBC Nightly News with Lester Holtfrom the ISS on Nov. 27. “Some smoked turkey, some cranberry, apple cobbler, green beans and mushrooms and mashed potatoes.”Williams also reiterated that she and Wilmore were doing just fine amid their extended stay in space.“People are worried about us, really, don’t worry about us,” she added. “We’re feeling good, working out, eating right. We have a lot of fun up here, too.”

Novembar–Decembar 2024. Astronauti su proslavili Dan zahvalnosti i šest meseci boravka na ISS, a planirani povratak pomeran je usled kašnjenja misije koja ih treba vratiti.

After the astronauts celebrated six months in space, NASA confirmed they would be staying even longer than previously thought. Although the organization had originally planned for the duo to return in February, delays in the SpaceX mission that would retrieve them led their stay to be extended to March or April,NASA said at the time.

Februar 2025. U javnoj raspravi predsednik je naveo da su "virtuelno napušteni", što su Wilmore i Williams jasno demantovali u intervjuu za CNN: "Ne osećamo se napušteno — došli smo pripremljeni i posvećeni," rekao je Wilmore.

In February, PresidentDonald Trumpclaimed in a Truth Social post that Williams and Wilmore had been “virtually abandoned” in space amid their eight-day-turned-eight-month journey. However, following the headline-making comment, theastronauts pushed back on the president’s claim.“We don't feel abandoned,” Wilmore insisted to CNN’sAnderson Cooperin a Feb. 13 interview. "We don't feel stuck. We don't feel stranded. We come prepared. We come committed.”Williams interjected during the interview that the pair were “doing pretty darn good, actually.”“We've got food, we've got clothes, we have great crew members up here,” she continued. “Of course, it was a little bit longer stay than we had expected, but both of us have trained to live and work on the International Space Station and I think we've made the most of it.”During the interview, Wilmore and Williams also confirmed they’d be returning to Earth when SpaceX launches its Dragon capsule March 12.“They'll come here, rendezvous and dock," Wilmore explained. “We'll do a turnover for about a week and we will return on or about the 19th of March.”

Mart 2025. Wilmore i Williams su bezbedno vraćeni na Zemlju 18. marta 2025. putem SpaceX Dragon kapsule. Nakon amfibijskog sletanja pored obale Floride, astronauti su izneti na nosilima što je standardni deo protokola oporavka kako bi se smanjio rizik dok se telo ne re-adaptira na gravitaciju.

Just days before her father was set to return, Wilmore’s daughterDaryn Wilmorespoke out on her father’s time in space—and how she felt about the delays in his return to Earth.“It’s a bit mentally exhausting,” she told theDaily Mailin a March 6 interview. “There's been issues. There's been negligence. And that's the reason why this has just kept getting delayed. There's just been issue after issue after issue.”Daryn expressed that her father was “bummed,” but otherwise doing well on the ISS, adding, “My dad is very resilient.”

Porodica, profesionalizam i refleksije

Zbog produženog odsustva, porodice su bile zabrinute: supruga Deanne Wilmore i ćerke Daryn i Logan pratile su dešavanja, a ljudski i emotivni aspekt misije bio je prisutan u svim izjavama. Uprkos napetim momentima, Wilmore ističe profesionalizam i posvećenost zadacima: "To je posao. To je divno i zabavno... Ljudski svemirski letovi su teški i ponekad nailazite na neočekivano."

After their extended nine-month stay in space, Wilmore and Williams safely returned to Earth on March 18. After splashing down off the coast of Florida, the NASA austronauts, alongside fellow NASA crew memberNick Hagueand Russian cosmonautAleksandr Gorbunov, were wheeled off the space capsule on stretchers—standard protocol for returning space travelers as they typically can’t walk right away upon their return.“A lot of them don't want to be brought out on a stretcher,” former NASA senior scientistJohn DeWitttoldLive Science, “but they're told they have to be.”As for how the astronauts will spend their first few days back on Earth? Wilmore's daughterDaryngave some insight.“He's going to spend the next few days going in [for] tests,” shesaid in a March 18TikTokvideo. “Lots of medical stuff because they're still technically part of the experiment of human space flight. And just get re-acclimated to gravity and the routine back here on Earth, because it's been very different than these past 9 months.”

U memoarima on takođe izražava ličnu povezanost sa lepotom kosmosa: radoznalost koja ga je vodila ka karijeri astrona se poistovećuje s divljenjem prema stvaranju i životu na Zemlji.

After the astronauts landed back on Earth following eight extra months in space, NASA addressed whether they'd get paid any overtime."When NASA astronauts are aboard the International Space Station, they receive regular, 40-hour work-week salaries,” NASA toldPeoplein a statement. “They do not receive overtime or holiday/weekend pay.”As for what a regular 40-hour work-week salary looks like for an astronaut? It clocks in at anywhere between $84,365 to $152,258, according to the federal government's GS-11 to GS-14 pay scale.

Šta su značili ovi događaji

Priča Wilmorea i Williams otvara pitanja o tehničkoj pouzdanosti novih posadačkih letelica, protokolima za vanredne situacije i psihološkim izazovima dugotrajnog boravka u svemiru. Ipak, ovaj slučaj takođe pokazuje i snagu treninga, discipline i međunarodnog sistema podrške koji omogućava bezbedan povratak posade čak i nakon neočekivanih kvarova.

Once, at long last, her father Butch returned home, daughter Daryn shared her reaction to finally being reunited with her dad."I'm making him his favorite dessert, which is pecan pie,” the college student said in aTikTok. “I actually have a list that's all his favorite things and things that we used to do together to hopefully do them these next few days that he's here before I go back to school, or in the coming months that he's back.”

Napomena: Plate astronauta dok su na ISS-u ostale su standardne i zasnovane na 40-časovnoj radnoj nedelji (raspon GS-11 do GS-14: $84,365–$152,258 godišnje), bez dodatnog prekovremenog obračuna za vreme provedeno u svemiru.