(NEW YORK) — Two now-retired chiefs from the New York City Fire Department were arrested early Monday morning following a yearlong corruption investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Retired Chief Brian Cordasco was arrested at home on Staten Island. Retired Chief Anthony Saccavino was arrested at home in Manhattan, the sources said.
Saccavino and Cordasco “repeatedly abused their positions of trust as high-ranking officials in the New York City Fire Department” by soliciting and accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court.
The two men were chiefs with the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention, which regulates the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings. For nearly two years, the indictment said, Saccavino and Cordasco misused this authority for their own financial gain.
The two allegedly accepted $190,000 in bribes in exchange for expediting inspections, according to the indictment.
“Every member of the FDNY takes a sworn oath to conduct themselves honestly and ethically. Anything less will not be tolerated,” Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, who took over the post after the chiefs had already retired, said in a statement. “The Department will fully cooperate with any ongoing investigations. Keeping New Yorkers safe remains our top priority.”
The FBI had searched their homes and offices earlier this year. he FDNY placed the chiefs on modified duty at the time. The New York City Department of Investigation searched FDNY headquarters as well.
The alleged scheme appears to have been discovered as an offshoot of the investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign took illegal money from Turkey in exchange for expediting the inspection of the new Turkish consulate.
A spokesperson for Adams said there is “no indication of any direct connection to anyone at City Hall.”
“City Hall became aware of this operation when we were notified by FDNY this morning,” the spokesperson said. “The FDNY continues to cooperate with DOI, and there is no indication of any direct connection to anyone at City Hall.”
Cordasco publicly complained about a so-called “City Hall List” of building projects that should be prioritized by FDNY inspectors, according to the indictment.
(NEW YORK) — Two now-retired chiefs from the New York City Fire Department were arrested early Monday morning following a yearlong corruption investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Retired Chief Brian Cordasco was arrested at home on Staten Island. Retired Chief Anthony Saccavino was arrested at home in Manhattan, the sources said.
Saccavino and Cordasco “repeatedly abused their positions of trust as high-ranking officials in the New York City Fire Department” by soliciting and accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court.
The two men were chiefs with the FDNY Bureau of Fire Prevention, which regulates the installation of fire safety and suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings. For nearly two years, the indictment said, Saccavino and Cordasco misused this authority for their own financial gain.
The two allegedly accepted $190,000 in bribes in exchange for expediting inspections, according to the indictment.
The FBI had searched their homes and offices earlier this year. he FDNY placed the chiefs on modified duty at the time. The New York City Department of Investigation searched FDNY headquarters as well.
The alleged scheme appears to have been discovered as an offshoot of the investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign took illegal money from Turkey in exchange for expediting the inspection of the new Turkish consulate.
Cordasco publicly complained about a so-called “City Hall List” of building projects that should be prioritized by FDNY inspectors, according to the indictment.
(NEW YORK) — A tropical storm warning is in effect in the Carolinas as the coast braces for a new storm set to make landfall on Monday.
The tropical system may strengthen to Tropical Storm Helene by the time it comes on shore near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Monday afternoon.
Helene will bring the threat of wind gusts up to 55 mph, coastal flooding with waves up to 11 feet, heavy rain possibly reaching 10 inches and potential flash flooding.
There’s also a threat for a few tornadoes in North Carolina on Monday.
Some of the rain will then reach the Mid-Atlantic, including Washington, D.C., by Tuesday.
Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina face the risk of flash flooding on Monday and Tuesday.
The coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, is in the bull’s-eye for the worst of the flooding. Flash flood threat map, Sep. 16, 2024.
This screen grab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally in support of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen on April 27, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. US media named Ryan Wesley Routh, whom AFP interviewed in Kyiv in 2022, where he had travelled to support the war effort, as the suspected would-be assassin of Donald Trump. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Ima
(PALM BEACH, Fla.) — The suspect in what the FBI has called an “attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump was a booster of a number of causes, ABC News analysis of his apparent social media profiles shows.
As authorities tried to unravel the motive and details of the case, sources said investigators were looking at whether Routh was frustrated with Trump’s position on Ukraine. Trump refused to answer when asked if Ukraine should win its war against Russia during the ABC News presidential debate last week.
Authorities recovered an “AK-47-style” rifle with a scope, two backpacks — one of which had a ceramic tile in it — and a GoPro from the scene, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The would-be gunman was within 300 to 500 yards of Trump when he was spotted. The former president was unharmed in the incident and it is unclear whether the suspect fired any shots.
Routh’s vehicle was stopped by police after a witness reported his license plate number to authorities. He was placed into custody on Sunday afternoon. Authorities expect to file charges relating to the incident in the coming days, sources told ABC News. The suspect’s motive remains unknown.
Routh is believed to have ties to North Carolina and Hawaii, according to sources. The FBI is conducting an extensive investigation into Routh’s social media activity, travel and any criminal record, sources said. Friends, family and associates are also being sought for interviews.
A law enforcement source told ABC News that profiles on X, LinkedIn, and Telegram are under investigation for a possible connection to Routh. Routh also appears to have operated a Facebook page, which has now been removed, and which listed the same phone number shared on his apparent X profile.
When ABC News dialed that number, an answering machine message said: “This is Ryan with Camp Box Buildings in Hawaii, and also the National Volunteer Center sending soldiers to Ukraine as well as Taiwan.”
Online, he appears to have been a prolific booster of several causes, chiefly of Ukraine’s, with numerous posts referring to an effort to recruit soldiers for that country. Specifically, many of Routh’s posts referred to an effort to send Afghan soldiers to Ukraine.
It was not immediately clear whether Routh had actually recruited any fighters for Ukraine or whether he had any contact with Ukraine’s military or government.
Routh’s apparent X profile contained dozens of posts calling on politicians, celebrities and journalists to support Ukraine. In 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion, posts on that profile contained claims that Routh had traveled to Kyiv.
Routh spoke with an ABC News team in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 30, 2022 — two months into the war — at a protest held by family members of Azov Battalion soldiers defending the city of Mariupol against Moscow’s forces.
He was wearing an American flag bandana around his neck and was holding a handwritten sign that read: “Please world we need everyone here. This is good against evil. These children want normal lives … End Russia for our kids.”
Routh told The Financial Times that he had tried to join Ukraine’s International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine — which is made up of foreign volunteers — but was rejected as too old. Routh claimed the Legion then suggested he work to recruit other foreigners to serve in the unit.
The International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine told ABC News via email: “We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity. Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate.”
A March 2023 post on a LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to Routh contained two undated photos of Routh, respectively showing him in front of the U.S. Congress and at Kyiv’s Independence Square. The post was captioned, “In DC and Kyiv to provide soldiers for the war effort.”
On June 10, 2020, Routh’s apparent X profile directed a post on X at Trump in which he said had supported Trump in the 2016 presidential election but that Trump had become a “disappointment.” The post concluded, “I will be glad when you are gone.”
Several X posts in March 2020 referred to support for then-Democratic presidential primary candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Posts in January 2024 indicated support for former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Facebook posts from October and November 2023 promoted conspiracy theories about China, COVID-19 and biological warfare. In December, Routh posted to the platform questioning the historical claim of Jewish people to Israel.
Routh’s apparent phone number was also listed on a website for a so-called “Taiwan Foreign Legion,” which calls on international volunteers to fight for Taiwan in the event of a possible conflict with China.
The most recent post on Routh’s apparent Facebook page also refers to an effort to convince Taiwan to accept Afghan fighters.
ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Jack Date, Peter Charalambous, Alexander Mallin, Leah Sarnoff, Joe Simonetti, Helena Skinner and Zohreen Shah contributed to this report.
In this handout provided by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, Rex Heuermann poses for his booking photo on July 14, 2023. — Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images, FILE
(NEW YORK) — A new sketch of the Gilgo Beach victim known as “Asian Doe,” whose remains were recovered along Ocean Parkway in April 2011, will be released Monday as authorities ask for help in identifying the person.
The sketch will be released at a 10 a.m. news conference.
The rendering, created by studying the recovered remains, is what anthropologists believe the unidentified subject, long described as an Asian male, would have looked like.
The Gilgo Beach Task Force will publish the sketch of the biological male’s remains found off Ocean Parkway in 2011 as they seek to identify the individual. The man was found wearing a bra and may have identified as a woman.
The remains were believed to have been at the location for at least five years before being discovered.
It is not clear if the death of “Asian Doe” is linked to Rex Heuermann, who has been charged in six of the Gilgo Beach murders. Investigators found 10 other bodies in the search for missing sex worker Shannan Gilbert on a stretch of beach along Long Island’s South Shore.
Heuermann, a New York City architect, was first charged in July 2023 with the deaths of women known as the “Gilgo Four” — Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Amber Costello — whose bodies were found covered in burlap in December 2010, according to court records.
This year, investigators charged Heuermann with the murders of two more women — the 2003 murder of Jessica Taylor, whose remains were found on Gilgo Beach and in Manorville, and the 1993 murder of Sandra Costilla, whose remains were found in North Sea, Long Island, in 1993.
(LOS ANGELES) — More than 8,600 firefighters simultaneously battling three major Southern California wildfires made substantial progress overnight, taking advantage of cooler and wetter weather to increase containment lines on all three blazes, authorities said Sunday.
The largest blaze — the Bridge Fire burning in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties — was at 54,567 acres as of Sunday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
More than 2,600 emergency personnel battling the fire increased containment to 9% on Sunday, up from 2% on Saturday morning. Fire crews ensured a “minimal” spread of the inferno by about 800 acres overnight, according to Cal Fire.
Two firefighters have been injured in the Bridge Fire, which began on Sept. 8. At least 19 structures have been destroyed and six damaged, with 11,560 more still under threat, Cal Fire said.
The northwest corner of the fire was most active through Saturday, Cal Fire added, while the east side of the blaze still poses risks to residents in the Mount Baldy area, where evacuation orders remain in effect.
Firefighters held their containment line on its south side in the Sunset Peak area, and increased containment there by 2%.
The cause of the Bridge Fire remains under investigation.
Elsewhere in the Los Angeles area, firefighters were gaining the upper hand on two other major wildland blazes.
Line Fire
Firefighters in San Bernardino County increased containment of the Line Fire to 36% on Sunday morning, up from 25% to 29% on Saturday, according to Cal Fire. The blaze, which was started Sept. 5 by an alleged arsonist, was 38,421 acres in size as of Cal Fire’s latest update Sunday morning.
Some 36,300 structures are being threatened, with one destroyed and three damaged as of Sunday. There are 4,103 fire personnel fighting the blaze, with three firefighters so far injured.
“Late Friday night and into the early hours Saturday, Line Fire activity was moderated due to higher moisture levels,” San Bernardino National Forest officials said, though they added that danger of spreading fire remained in dry vegetation, drainages and along slopes.
“The weather is expected to remain cool over the next several days which will continue to help moderate fire behavior,” the national forest officials said.
Airport Fire
Firefighters battling the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties grew containment from 9% to 19% on Saturday, Cal Fire reported, with the fire now 23,519 acres in size.
The wildfire destroyed 109 structures and damaged 24 more as of Saturday night, Cal Fire said, with another 21,993 still threatened. Fourteen people — 12 firefighters and two civilians — have been injured.
“Favorable weather conditions persisted, with the marine layer returning this evening and forecast light precipitation in the coming days,” Cal Fire wrote on Saturday evening.
“Despite recent weather, the dry vegetation has exhibited active fire behavior, indicating the continued risk of increased fire activity,” Cal Fire said.
“Evacuation levels are being assessed daily by fire managers in collaboration with law enforcement based on fire containment and safety considerations,” it added. “Efforts are underway to safely return residents to their homes as conditions permit.”
The Airport Fire began around 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday, sparked by county public works crews working on a fire prevention project by trying to move boulders to prevent public access — mostly by motorcyclists — to an area of the canyon with a lot of dry vegetation that could ignite easily, officials told Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
ABC News’ Samira Said and Tristan Maglunog contributed to this report.
Law enforcement personnel investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on September 15, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI and U.S. Secret Service, along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office, are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump” while he was golfing at the course. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(PALM BEACH, Fla.) — Former President Donald Trump thanked law enforcement for an “incredible” response to what the FBI described as an assassination attempt at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, golf course on Sunday.
Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was detained by Florida authorities in relation to the incident. Authorities are now probing for more details on the would-be shooter.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE.”
“THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!” he wrote.
Secret Service agents accompanying Trump fired at a man armed with an AK-47-style rifle on or near the Trump International golf course on Sunday.
The incident comes around two months after Trump was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI is investigating Sunday’s incident as an “attempted assassination.” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the gunman was within 300 to 500 yards of Trump when he was spotted.
Secret Service agents fired four to six rounds at him before he dropped his weapon and fled the scene in a vehicle. Witnesses reported the license plate number to authorities, and the suspect was stopped and detained.
It was not clear if the suspect was aiming his gun at the former president. Agents fired at the suspect after spotting his rifle through the fence line, multiple sources told ABC News.
Sources said three shell casings believed to be associated with the suspect’s AK-47 were found on the scene, though investigators are still evaluating whether the suspect fired his weapon. The rifle and two backpacks containing a GoPro camera and ceramic tiles were recovered from the scene, Bradshaw said.
Sources said Trump was immediately rushed to a safe area on the grounds of the golf course after the shots were fired.
Authorities are now probing Routh’s background. The detainee is believed to have ties to North Carolina and Hawaii, sources said. Sources told ABC News that the FBI is conducting an extensive investigation into Routh’s social media activity, travel and any criminal record. Friends, family and associates are also being sought for interviews.
Sources familiar with the investigation said authorities are looking into whether Routh had grievances related to Trump’s position on Ukraine.
Authorities are expected to file charges relating to the incident in the coming days, sources told ABC News.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both condemned the apparent assassination effort.
“As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” Biden said in a statement.
Harris said she was “thankful” that Trump was safe and “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt.”
“As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence,” Harris said.
ABC News’ Lalee Ibassa, Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky, Soo Rin Kim, Michelle Stoddart, Pierre Thomas, Rachel Scott, Jack Date, Leah Sarnoff, Kelsey Walsh and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
A new bomb threat prompted officials Sunday at Clark State College in Springfield, Ohio, to close the campus this week and hold classes virtually, the school said.
Clark officials said it received an email of a bomb threat to the Springfield campus on Sunday, a day after it received another emailed threat on Saturday threatening a possible shooting.
“We took immediate action with the Springfield Police Department and they have ensured our campus is secure and safe,” the college said in a statement.
The college said that “out of an abundance of caution,” it will conduct all instruction virtually and close all of its campuses for the week of Sept. 16-20, adding, “We will always prioritize the safety and wellness of our students, employees and community.”
“We understand the anxiety that such incidents can cause and we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and care,” Clark officials said. “As a proactive measure, Springfield Police will also increase their security presence on campus, and we are working with our wellness team and partners to provide additional counseling services.”
Bomb threats made on Saturday targeted three medical facilities, an unspecified fourth facility and Wittenberg University, a small private liberal arts college in Springfield, officials said.
Wittenberg officials canceled all activities scheduled for Sunday due to a threat that “targeted Haitian members of our community,” the university said in an alert on Saturday.
“Wittenberg University is currently taking extreme precautions following an email that threatened a potential shooting on-campus tomorrow,” the university said in a statement on Saturday.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that the FBI “is working in coordination with the Springfield Police Department and Wittenberg University to determine the credibility of recent threats, share information, and take appropriate investigative action. We encourage the public to remain vigilant and to report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.”
As a result of the threats, local police conducted sweeps of the colleges and medical facilities targeted and cleared them. Some have already reopened, a police official told ABC News.
Springfield Regional Medical Center, Ohio Valley Surgical Hospital and Kettering Health Springfield were listed by authorities as targets.
The Springfield Police Division has beefed up its staffing as it deals with threats stemming from unsubstantiated claims about the Haitian migrant community.
Two elementary schools were evacuated and a middle school was closed on Friday in the wake of a threat sent via email in Springfield, according to the school district and the mayor.
The elementary schools released students to their parents, officials said.
It’s unclear if the person who sent Friday’s threat is the same person who sent the other threats, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told ABC News.
On Thursday morning, bomb threats were sent via email “to multiple agencies and media outlets” in the city, according to the city commission office.
Explosive-detecting K-9s helped police clear multiple facilities listed in the threat, including two elementary schools, City Hall and a few driver’s license bureaus, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott told reporters. The county court facilities were also cleared “out of an abundance of caution,” she said.
The FBI is working with local police to help identify the source of the threat, Elliott said.
The mayor said there’s a lot of fear in Springfield in the wake of the threats.
“This is a very concerning time for our citizens, and frankly, a lot of people are tired of just, you know, the things that have been spread about our community that are just negative and not true. We need help, not hate,” Rue told ABC News on Friday.
The mayor said he believes these threats are directly connected to the baseless rumors spread online in the wake of viral social media posts claiming Haitian migrants were abducting people’s pets in Springfield in order to eat them. The rumors were amplified by right-wing politicians, including former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said at Tuesday night’s presidential debate. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
A spokesperson for the city of Springfield told ABC News these claims are false, and that there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.”
“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes,” the spokesperson said. “Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic.”
The mayor added, “Your pets are safe in Springfield.”
Springfield estimates there are around 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants living in the county; migrants have been drawn to the region because of the low cost of living and work opportunities, according to the city. The rapid rise in population has strained housing, health care and school resources, according to the city. City officials also said the migrants are in the country legally and that many are recipients of Temporary Protected Status.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance condemned the “baseless and inflammatory” claims about Haitian migrants, arguing they “not only perpetuate harmful stereotypes but also contribute to the dangerous stigmatization of immigrant communities, particularly Black immigrants from the Republic of Haiti.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who dispelled the rumors this week, said the state would send more resources to Springfield.
The mayor stressed, “Anybody on the national stage that takes a microphone, needs to understand what they could do to communities like Springfield with their words. They’re not helping. They’re hurting communities like ours with their words.”
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, did not appear Friday at a hearing held by a Republican-led state Senate committee that has been investigating her.
Willis has challenged the legality of the subpoenas she received from the committee, a spokesperson for her office previously told ABC News.
The hearing today was set to include “sworn testimony” from Willis, according to a press release from the committee.
Willis’ attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that Willis “will not appear until there has been a judicial determination of the validity of the subpoena.”
Barnes did not respond Friday to a request for comment from ABC News.
Republican State Sen. Bill Cowsert, the chairman of the committee, said at the beginning of the hearing that “we have subpoenaed Fani Willis to testify … she is defying her subpoena and not appearing.”
“But we will welcome her if she appears at some point during the meeting,” Cowsert said, before continuing the hearing with other issues and witnesses.
Willis charged Trump and 18 others in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. All defendants, including Trump, pleaded not guilty, then four defendants subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against the others.
The judge in the case, Scott McAfee, ruled in March that either Willis or prosecutor Nathan Wade must step aside from the case due to a “significant appearance of impropriety” stemming from a previous romantic relationship between Wade and Willis. Wade subsequently stepped down.
The Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations was established earlier this year with a stated goal to “thoroughly investigate the allegations of misconduct” by Willis.
It said it would look to “enact new or amend existing laws and/or change state appropriations to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system.”
Cowsert previously said it was not within the committee’s authority to seek to disqualify Willis from the election case or to criminally prosecute her, but rather to “investigate many of these troubling allegations.”
A Georgia court of appeals paused the election interference case in June, pending the resolution of a court battle over Willis’ being allowed to remain on the case..
Oral arguments in that matter are currently scheduled for Dec. 5, a month after the presidential election.
In a separate case, a Georgia state prosecutor said in a statement Friday that he would not pursue criminal charges against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for acting as one of Trump’s so-called “fake electors” in the 2020 election.
Pete Skandalakis, the head of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, was tasked with investigating Jones after Willis was disqualified from investigating him in 2022 by a Fulton County judge after Willis held a fundraiser for Jones’ political opponent.
Skandalakis, in his decision Friday, wrote that the case against Jones “does not warrant further consideration” and that Jones “did not act with criminal intent” when he served as an alternate elector and aided Trump’s efforts in the state in other ways.
Jones was not indicted in Willis’ election interference probe.
(NEW YORK) — The NASA astronauts who flew Boeing’s Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) and will now remain there until next year say they don’t feel let down by the mission.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams. who performed the first crewed test flight of Starliner, have been in space since early June. When they launched, they were only supposed to be on the ISS for about a week.
NASA and Boeing officials decided to send Starliner back to Earth earlier this month after several issues and keep Wilmore and Williams onboard until February. They will be sent home on a SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon spacecraft.
When asked if they felt let down by the way the mission turned out, Wilmore said they didn’t.
“Let down? Absolutely not,” Wilmore said during a press conference on Friday. “It’s never entered my mind. It’s a fair question I can tell you, I thought a lot about this press conference … and what I wanted to say and convey.”
He added, “NASA do a great job of making a lot of things look easy. …. That’s just the way it goes. sometimes because we are pushing the edges of the envelope in everything that we do.”
Williams said she and Wilmore are very knowledgeable about Starliner so the problems with the spacecraft were “obvious” to both of them, but she was happy to see it return to Earth.
“I was so happy it got home with no problems,” she said, “We saw it fly away, and then we all got up. The whole crew got up at three in the morning, and we had it up on our iPads, watching it land.”
Starliner landed at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in the early hours of Sept. 7.
Despite Starliner’s issues, NASA officials said Wilmore and Williams would have been safe onboard Starliner if they returned with the spacecraft.
“If we’d have had a crew on board the spacecraft, we would have followed the same back away sequence from the space station, the same de-orbit burn and executed the same entry and so it would have been a safe, successful landing with the crew on board,” Steve Stich, program manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said at a post-landing press conference.
Stich told reporters last month that NASA will send Dragon to the ISS in September, with only two of the four astronauts assigned to it.
The spacecraft would carry extra spacesuits for Wilmore and Williams. However, the two would remain on the ISS until February 2025, when Crew-9 is set to return to Earth.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
