Astronauts 'Stranded' in Space for 9 Months Are 'Packing' for Their Long-Awaited Return to Earth

(L-R) Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for launch on June 5, 2024.Photo:Joe Raedle/Getty Joe Raedle/Getty After being stranded in space for nine months, two NASA astronauts are getting closer to finally returning to Earth as a new group of astronauts prepare to head to the International Space Station. On Wednesday, March 12, four astronauts are scheduled to blast off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, according toNASA. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

Astronauts Who Have Been in Space for 8 Months Push Back on Trump’s Claim They Were 'Abandoned'

NASA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock “That’s been the rhetoric. That’s been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck," Butch Wilmore said while speaking withCNN’sAnderson Cooperfrom the International Space Station on Thursday, Feb. 13. “But that is, again, not what our human spaceflight program is about,” he continued. “We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded.” Although Wimore admitted that he understood “why others may think that,” he said that they came to space prepared “for any and all contingencies that we can conceive of.

At 25, She Adopted Her Former Student. Now She’s Navigating Life as a Single Mother of 2 (Exclusive)

Paige Bramlett’s journey to motherhoodwas far from conventional, but for her, it was always meant to be. Even before having children, she knew adoption would be a part of her story – though she never expected it to happen so soon, or the way it did. At just 24 years old, Bramlett took a leap of faith that would change both her life and the life of a 5-year-old boy in need of a home.

At Least 10 Killed in Mass Shooting at Adult Education School: 'Worst Mass Shooting in Swedish History'

Police in Sweden said “about 10” people were killed in ashooting at an adult education school. The shooting occurred at Campus Risbergska in Örebro, Sweden, the city said in a statement. Police say the shooter is believed to have been killed. The AP reported that the school serves people over the age of 20 and offers both primary and secondary school classes. It also includes programs for immigrants trying to learn Swedish and vocational training for people with intellectual disabilities, according to the report.

At Least 179 People Dead, Including a 3-Year-Old Boy, After Plane Crashes During Landing in South Korea

A passenger plane crash-landed in South Korea, killing 179 people on board, including a 3-year-old boy. Jeju Air flight 7C2216 “caught fire while landing” at Muan International Airport at around 9:03 a.m. local time on Sunday, Dec. 29, airliner CEO Kim E-bae confirmed in astatement on Instagram. The plane, carrying 175 passengers and six crew members, was flying in from Bangkok when it “veered off the runway” after landing and “collided” with a concrete fence at the airport, according to local police and firefighters, South Korean news agencyYonhapandCNNreported.