Sunita Williams Calls Space Her 'Happy Place'; Stuck Astronauts Eager To Vote In US Presidential Elections

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NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams, along with Butch Willmore, expressed their desire to vote in the upcoming US presidential elections this November. During a live press conference on Friday night, from 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station, Williams said that she is in her happy place and loves being in space.

"This is my happy place. I love being up here in space... A test flight means that we're probably going to find some stuff." she said, ANI reported.

The astronauts said that they have requested a ballot to vote in the upcoming U.S. elections, emphasising the "important role" that citizens play in the democratic process.

"I sent down my request for a ballot today, as a matter of fact, and they should get it to us in a couple of weeks," Wilmore said, as per the ANI reports. 

A decision was made to return the Starliner spacecraft to Earth without its crew, and it successfully landed on September 6 after spending over three months in space. The spacecraft made a safe landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

Both astronauts will stay on the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew and are expected to return in February 2025. They will return aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

On June 5, the pair launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for its inaugural crewed flight and arrived at the space station on June 6.