In a conversation with students at Needham High School from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, January 27, Williams shared insights about life aboard the space station.

“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,” she said.

“We initially thought it might be around a month, but the extension turned out to be quite different,” she added.

Williams and Butch Wilmore, another astronaut stuck in space with her, are expected to return to Earth in the spring.

In December 2024, NASA announced that the spacecraft that will bring them home won’t be ready to launch until “no earlier than late March 2025.”

The Needham native has spent the last seven months stranded in space with Wilmore after technical issues with the Starliner raised concerns at NASA, leading to repeated extensions of their stay. Initially planned for just eight to 10 days, their mission has faced multiple delays.

A SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon was sent to retrieve the astronauts, aiming for a February return. However, their replacements were scheduled to arrive on SpaceX Crew-10, which is not expected to launch until late March or April.

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