Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore cast their votes from space. Here's how

American astronauts living on the International Space Station (ISS) won't have to refrain from taking part in the presidential election just because they aren't on Earth. All four of them - Don Pettit, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams - will be taking part in the election process through two methods.

While Wilmore and Williams have cast an absentee ballot, Hague and Pettit likely filled out Federal Postcard Applications (FPCAs) before arriving at the station. FPCAs are similar to absentee ballots but are used by US citizens and military personnel living overseas. For Hague and Pettit, it still applies since they are in space.

Talking to reporters during a call in September, Williams said that getting to vote from space, "is pretty cool."

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"It's a very important duty that we have as citizens," Williams said.

Wimore also talked about casting his vote from space, telling reporters that he had requested an absentee ballot. "NASA makes it very easy for us to [be included in elections], so we're excited about that opportunity," he said.

Starliner problems stranded Williams and Wilmore

Both Williams and Wilmore weren't supposed to be casting an absentee ballot. However, they have been stuck on the ISS ever since going to space aboard the Boeing Starliner in early June.

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The spacecraft was initially supposed to blast off on May 6. However, a problem with the oxygen valve led to the launch being scrubbed.

A computer hardware fault led to the launch again being called off on June 1.

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It finally took off on June 5 with Williams and Wilmore on board but was hit by more problems as its thrusters started experiencing problems. Stress testing revealed performance degradation in the thrusters, and the software marked five of them as damaged.

Their return journey was jeopardised because of the technical issues with the Starliner, and a week-long trip has now stretched to months. They are now only expected to return to Earth in February 2025.

NASA tried for weeks to fix the problem, but nothing worked. So, Starliner returned to Earth without its crew in early September. A couple of weeks later, SpaceX's Crew-9 arrived at the ISS and the two astronauts were officially assigned as members.