Needham astronaut Suni Williams gives shoutout to Patriots from ISS - Boston News, Weather, Sports

Needham native Suni Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore spoke from the International Space Station about their extended stay.

The two gave a bit of insight into how they'll keep busy over the next few months, as they spoke publicly for the first time in weeks. Williams also gave a nod to her home state of Massachusetts.

"I have to say, 'Go Pats.' Now, thank you for the call from God's country," Williams said.

Williams may be stuck in space, but the Bay State is still on her mind.

"It'd be nice if someone put a New England apple in a space craft that was coming up here because you've got the prettiest place on Earth with the fall coming up. We'll take a look at it from up here and try to take some pictures for you guys, but I know the Boston crowd is cheering us on, so we'll find a better place to 'pahk the cah' next time," she said.

Last month, NASA officials decided Williams and Wilmore will stay on the ISS through February 2025, when they will leave orbit on a SpaceX rocket. After the June launch, the Boeing Crew Flight Test encountered serious technical issues, so NASA decided not to bring them back home on the Boeing Starliner.

"This was not the very first option. We wanted to take Starliner to completion and land it back on land at home, but you have to turn the page," Williams said.

But, the astronauts are in good spirits — working out daily and conducting experiments, maintenance, and space walks.

Williams said that the ISS is her "happy place."

The astronauts said they requested their absentee ballots to vote in the presidential election in November.

"90 percent of our training is preparing for the unexpected and sometimes the actual unexpected goes beyond what you even think could happen," Wilmore said.