Stranded astronauts to vote in US presidential poll from space

Will NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore vote in the US presidential elections from space? The astronauts, who are spending extra time in space, said they plan to cast their ballot in space for the November 5 polls.

Sunita Williams said voting from space is "pretty cool." "It's a very important duty that we have as citizens and  I'm looking forward to being able to vote from space which is pretty cool," Ms Williams said. She spoke with the media for the first time after Starliner's departure from the International Space Station last week without brining back the two astraunauts stuck in space. 

Sunita Williams also said that she misses her family and two dogs as she remains part of the crew onboard the International Space Station. “You asked what we missed, right of course, things we always miss – our families. I miss my two dogs I miss my friends but you know what...I know they understand. I know it's tough on them as well…But everyone understands and everyone is cheering for us to get back,” she added.

Meanwhile, Butch Wilmore said, “I set down my request for a ballot today."

How can they vote from space?

The Texas Legislature passed a bill in 1997 that allowed NASA astronauts to vote from space. That year, NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote from space on the Mir Space Station. Voting from space starts with a Federal Postcard Application or FPCA.

"Before the election day, an encrypted electronic ballot is uplinked to the astronauts by JSC’s Mission Control. Using a set of unique credentials sent to each of them by e-mail, astronauts can access their ballots, cast their votes, and downlink them back down to Earth to the County Clerk’s office," according to the National Air and Space Museum.

Overstaying in space

Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore had lleft for space onboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5. This Starliner test flight marked the first Boeing spaceflight with astronauts.

During its journey towards the space station, Starliner endured a series of thruster failures and helium leaks – prompting a delay in its return from the space, along with the crew.

To ensure the safety of the astronauts on the faulty Starliner, NASA decided to bring back the spacecraft without it's crew on September 6.

“Uncrewed” Starliner landed safely in the New Mexico desert earlier this month, but Boeing's path forward in NASA's commercial crew program remains uncertain.

The astronauts are expected to return from space on a SpaceX craft in February 2025. They are on an extended mission now on the space station. Their mission on Starliner was expected to last for about eight days. However, they will be spending eight months in space before coming back home next year.

(By arrangement with livemint.com)