The daughter of NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore has opened up for the first time about her father’s unexpectedly long stay in space.
Daryn Wilmore revealed that her dad had missed out on major family moments during his nine-month mission in a heartfelt video last month.
She and her 16-year-old sister, Logan, have been waiting for his return since June, along with their mother in Houston, Texas.
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"It's been hard if we're completely honest," Daryn said.
She explained that her frustration wasn’t just about her dad being in space, but rather 'why' he was still there.
"There's a lot of politics, there's a lot of things that I'm not at liberty to say and that I don't know fully about," Daryn added.
"But there's been issues. There's been negligence. And that's the reason why this has just kept getting delayed. There's just been issue after issue after issue."
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While stranded in space, Wilmore has missed much of Logan’s senior year of high school and Daryn’s college theatre performances, as well as Christmas and his 30th wedding anniversary.
Daryn's video came just weeks before SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested that politics played a role in delaying Wilmore’s return.
The tech billionaire blamed the Biden administration for leaving them in space. He later doubled down on his claim during an interview with Joe Rogan, saying his offer to bring the astronauts back was rejected because it would have 'made Trump look good.'
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Wilmore and his crewmate, Sunita Williams, were supposed to return from the ISS eight days after arriving. However, problems with their return capsule led to multiple delays, and NASA pushed back their flight home until at least March 19.
Logan has also shared her feelings online, posting a video in August of her dad preparing to board the Starliner capsule, followed by a clip of her hugging him.
She captioned: "Not dead, just stuck in space. I'm not worried at all, just miss him!"
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In October, she posted a slideshow of photos of them together as a tribute to her father. Despite the long separation, the sisters have been able to keep in touch with their dad through regular video calls. "I talk to my dad all the time," Daryn added. "That makes things really nice."
Now, with his return expected in mid-March, Daryn says she is 'excited' to finally see him again.
"I miss him so much," she said, admitting that she's looking forward to having him attend her upcoming performance and watch Logan graduate high school this spring. "But fingers crossed, things could always change. And especially with this whole thing - we've had so many changes. And it's a bit mentally exhausting."