NASA Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams news conference

NASA Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams news conference – left behind hard

Two US astronauts stranded in space for eight months said it was hard to watch their malfunctioning craft depart the International Space Station without the two. But trained to “expect the unexpected”.

In a press conference on Friday, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore appeared happy and healthy after told by Nasa to stay onboard the ISS. This due to potential faults with their Boeing Starliner re-entry vehicle.

“This is my happy place,” said Ms Williams, but she admitted she missed her family and two dogs.

They said they they were not “comfortable” with some issues on the Starliner, but were still sad to see it leave the station and return to earth without them earlier this week.

The pair thanked people on Earth for sending them messages and prayers. “The concern for us specifically is very heart-warming,” Mr Wilmore said.

Asked if they felt let down by Nasa, Mr Wilmore replied “absolutely not”.

The pair left Earth in June for an eight-day mission to test Boeing Starliner’s capsule. Engineers noticed problems with its thrusters and a helium leak, and Nasa decided to keep Ms Williams, 58, and Mr Wilmore, 61, on the ISS until 2025.