Astronaut Suni Williams, who made headlines last year after she was left stuck in space aboard the International Space Station following concerns about Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, told students Monday that she has forgotten what it’s like to walk.
Williams, a native of Massachusetts, was answering questions on the ISS from students at Needham High School, where she graduated in 1983, CBS Boston reported.
One student asked Williams about what it’s like being in orbit, and she said it was like swimming or flying.
“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,” Williams said, CBS Boston reported.
Williams said that she and her fellow astronaut, Butch Wilmore, were expecting their trip to be longer than the scheduled eight days, being that it was their first time flying the aircraft. However, she said she was not expecting it to turn into more than seven months in space.
“It was a little bit of a shock, actually,” Williams explained to students. “We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different.”
Still, Williams is keeping a good attitude about her situation, saying she’s having fun in space and is glad she can share what she’s going through with those back on Earth. She also said it has changed how she keeps in touch with her loved ones.
“My mother’s getting a little bit older, so in that regard, I just try to stay in touch with them and those guys as much as possible,” Williams said. “I think I talk to my mom practically every day. Just check in with her, and call her, and see how she’s doing. So it’s just a little bit different relationship than we had potentially planned on for the last couple of months. But we’re managing.”
Williams’ time in space may soon be coming to an end, as a SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon has been launched into space with the intention of bringing the astronauts back to Earth in February.
However, their replacements to take over for them on the ISS are not scheduled to take off until late March or April, meaning they can not return until they complete a handover period.