Live updates: Stranded astronauts say they are ‘grateful’ for extra time in space

Sunita Williams is the Pilot of the crew flight test for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

The former US Navy pilot and later astronaut had already had a remarkable career at NASA before this headline-grabbing trip.

A veteran of two previous missions to the International Space Station in 2006–2007 and 2012, she held the record for most spacewalks by a woman and had the second highest number of spacewalk hours of any female astronaut.

Although Williams has been in space for over three months now, she demonstrated her endurance long ago: in 2007, she ran the first marathon in space.

Barry“Butch” (butcher) Willmore is an experienced astronaut who spent many long hours on the ISS with Williams before being stranded there this year.

Willmore, a retired Navy officer and pilot, landed fighter jets on aircraft carriers and conducted combat missions during Operation Desert Storm before joining NASA in 2000 and beginning to develop a few higher.

During his trips to the ISS in 2009 and 2014-2015, he completed several spacewalks and has spent 178 days in space, according to NASA. That number is set to increase significantly due to his current predicament.