Stranded Boeing Starliner astronauts will vote in the presidential election — all the way from space

Being stranded in space isn’t going to stop veteran astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore from voting — with the pair planning to cast their ballots in the presidential election from 250 miles above Earth.

Williams and Wilmore participated in a press conference on Friday from the International Space Station, which has been their home since June when their doomed Boeing Starliner was unable to bring them home from a planned 8-day voyage.

The duo are now expected to hitch a ride back to Earth next February on a SpaceX spacecraft due to launch this month — meaning they will miss their chance to vote in person on Nov. 5. 

“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.

“It’s a very important role that we all play as citizens to be included in those elections and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that. We’re excited for that opportunity.”

Williams shared Wilmore’s enthusiasm, stating that she looks forward to being able to fulfill a “very important duty” and vote from space. 

The pair didn’t indicate which presidential candidate — either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris — would get their vote.

Astronauts have been voting from space since 1997 when the Texas legislature passed a bill allowing NASA employees to vote from space.

That year, NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote from space on the Mir Space Station.

In 2020, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins also performed her civic duty from space on the ISS.

Friday’s press conference came exactly one week after the Starliner returned to Earth — without its crew — to make room on the space station for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which is now due to bring the two astronauts home in February.

The return flight took six hours, with the Starliner parachuting into the New Mexico desert.

Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for a crewed test flight, arriving at the ISS a day later for what was supposed to be an 8-day voyage.

Instead, the astronauts found themselves stuck in space after numerous helium leaks — that were previously known about — caused thrusters to malfunction.

NASA later announced it would not be able to return the veteran astronauts home until February 2025.

“A test flight means that we’re probably going to find some stuff,” Williams said during the press conference.

“We’ve done as much as we can to look at the envelope that we’re going to operate in but this is the first time we’ve had humans in space in Starliner and we did find stuff and we made the right decisions and we’re here and that’s how things go in this business.”

When asked if they were let down by their new reality, Wilmore said “absolutely not.”

He said dealing with difficult situations builds a great deal of fortitude and character.

“We are tasked and we learn and we train to handle all types of situations. And this is not just at NASA, this is something Suni and I have done for an entire career,” Wilmore said.

“Whatever it is, we’re going to do the very best job we can do every single day because that’s what the folks who do this type of job have to do.”

Williams and Wilmore are living on the ISS with seven other astronauts.