In one of the most politicised and closely-followed human space missions of late, Williams spent 286 days in space—even as her original mission was intended to last for as less as eight days. The mission’s conundrum raises a key question: why is spaceflight still so difficult for humans?
Why did Williams spend so long in space?
Williams’ original mission, aboard a spacecraft built by US aviation major Boeing, was meant to last for eight regulated days. However, a mechanical failure in Boeing’s Starliner—expected initially to be an alternative to Elon Musk-backed SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft—threw plans off schedule.
Eventually, the central US space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), had to undock Boeing’s spacecraft and safely remove it from the vicinity of the International Space Station (ISS)—a floating sub-orbital landing pad for astronauts (apart from Russian and Chinese spacefarers for now).
A subsequent human spaceflight had to be dedicatedly planned for the stranded astronauts, which went through a prolonged phase of delay due to scheduling conflicts within Nasa.
While Musk, who runs SpaceX, had claimed that he had “offered to bring Williams back” more than six months ago during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure, Nasa administrator Bill Nelson stated earlier this month that the space agency had received no such offer.
Amid this political tug of war and engineering failure alike, Williams, along with fellow Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore, spent over nine months in space.
Does this make her the longest-residing human in space?
No. The record for the longest continuous spaceflight belongs to Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 days aboard the Mir Space Station between 1994 and 1995.
Among Americans, Frank Rubio holds the record with 371 days in space from September 2022 to 2023.
With 286 days in orbit, Williams and Wilmore are now the joint sixth-longest space residents in US history and rank among the top 10 longest space missions worldwide.
Is India planning to send its own astronauts to space?
Yes. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is set to take a major leap in human spaceflight with its Gaganyaan mission.
This year, ISRO plans to conduct its first unmanned trial mission to test its indigenous crew module and validate India’s spaceflight capabilities.
By next year, four Indian astronauts are expected to fly to space aboard India’s own spacecraft—a feat managed by only the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.
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So, why is space travel so difficult for us?
Despite 64 years since Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight in 1961, human spaceflight remains an immensely complex and high-risk endeavour.
Errors and oversights in manned spaceflight can lead to catastrophic circumstances without any failsafes, as seen in Nasa’s 1986 manned mission Challenger, and the 2003 manned mission aboard Columbia.
While the former exploded 73 seconds after takeoff—instantly killing seven veteran astronauts on-board, the latter burned and disintegrated while reentering the earth’s orbit.
For India, the Columbia disaster marked the death of Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-origin woman to fly to space, and only the second individual with Indian roots after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s spaceflight aboard the Russian Soyuz-T11 in 1984.
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While engineering has evolved in leaps and bounds since then, the tragedies have highlighted why manned space missions are incredibly challenging even now—they require immense speeds from clinically-constructed space shuttles to escape the earth’s gravitational pull, enter space, operate in zero-gravity and zero-oxygen conditions, and eventually fly back to earth.
While space tourism is on the rise, human spaceflight remains steeply expensive and mostly limited to state-backed research missions.
Why do nations race to send humans to space?
Space exploration is more than just scientific ambition—it is a symbol of geopolitical power.
Having the ability to send humans to space would also give any nation indigenous capability to carry out space reconnaissance and other engineering activities—which are invaluable for defence forces, and cutting-edge research.
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China, for instance, has leveraged its independent space program to establish itself as a global superpower, challenging traditional space leaders.
For India, a successful Gaganyaan mission would mark a major milestone, enhancing its self-reliance and strengthening its position as a key player in global space diplomacy.
