Govind Tekale
Will NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore vote for the US Presidential elections from space?
The astronauts, who are spending their time in space, said they plan to cast their ballot in space for the November 5 Polls, irrespective of their location. Sunita Williams exclaimed that voting from space is “pretty cool.” She added, “It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens and [I am] looking forward to being able to vote from space which is pretty cool”, Williams said she spoke with the media for the first time after her Starliner’s departure from the ‘ISS’ (International Space Station).
Sunita Williams also added that she misses her family and her dogs as she remains part of the crew on-board the ISS.
Meanwhile, Butch Wilmore, her partner added, “I set down my request for a ballot today”. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had launched in space onboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5.
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This Starliner test flight marked the first Boeing space flight with astronauts . During its journey towards the space station, Starliner endured a series of thruster failures and helium leaks which prompted a delay in its return from space, along with the crew.
To ensure the safety of the astronauts, NASA decided to bring back the spacecraft without its crew on September 6, 2024. The “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. Meanwhile, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return from space on a SpaceX craft in February 2025.
How can astronauts vote from space?
According to the Texas Legislature bill passed in 1997 allowed NASA astronauts to vote from space. In that given year, NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote from space on the Mir Space Station.
NASA explains that voting from space starts with a Federal Postcard Application, or FPCA. The National Air and Space Museum said on its website,” Before 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 through e- mail, astronauts can access their ballots, cast their votes, and downlink them back down to Earth to the County Clerk’s office.”
