NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), have expressed their desire to participate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, according to reports from American media on Friday, September 13.
The astronauts’ return to Earth has been delayed for months due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, and they are expected to remain in space until at least February 2025.
Committed to Voting Speaking during a press conference from the ISS, Williams and Wilmore emphasized the importance of voting, revealing that they have requested absentee ballots to exercise their civic duty.
“I sent down my request for a ballot today, actually, and they should get it to us in a couple of weeks,” Wilmore said.
He added, “It’s a very important role we all play as citizens to be part of these elections, and NASA makes it really easy for us to do that. We’re excited for the opportunity.”
NASA astronauts have been voting from space since 1997.
How Voting from Space Works In 1997, the Texas Legislature passed a law allowing astronauts to vote while on space missions. NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote from space, casting his ballot from the Russian Mir Space Station.
In 2020, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins also voted while aboard the ISS.
Rubins’ ballot, like most data sent between the space station and mission control, traveled through NASA’s Near Space Network, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. After filling out her specially designed electronic absentee ballot, the document was transmitted via a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite to a ground station in New Mexico, from where it was securely sent to NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston. Finally, the encrypted ballot reached the county clerk responsible for processing it, ensuring the vote’s security and integrity.
