On her 59th birthday, Sunita Williams had planned a quiet celebration at home in Houston with her husband and rescue dogs. Instead, the veteran NASA astronaut finds herself 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting at 17,500 mph. The unexpected birthday location comes after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which was intended to return her to Earth, malfunctioned during its maiden manned voyage, leaving her and fellow astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore stranded in space until February.

A Routine Mission Turned into an Eight-Month Ordeal

Williams and Wilmore's mission began on June 5 when they blasted off from Earth aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The flight was supposed to be an eight-day test mission to the ISS, but the trip took an unfortunate turn when five of Starliner’s thrusters failed on take-off, followed by multiple helium leaks. NASA experts, concerned for the astronauts' safety, decided to bring the damaged craft back to Earth unmanned on September 7, leaving Williams and Wilmore aboard the ISS.

Initially, both astronauts expected a quick return to their families, so much so that they voluntarily left behind two duffel bags of clothes and toiletries to make more room for scientific equipment. That decision proved costly, as they now face an eight-month stay in space, reliant on borrowed clothing and essentials from the ISS crew.

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