NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore to address public from space after extended ISS stay
Washington: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are set to make their first public appearance since the announcement of their extended stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Earth-to-space call is scheduled for 11:45 PM IST tonight, where the duo will share updates on their mission.
Williams and Wilmore were launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, for what was originally an eight-day mission. However, technical issues with the Starliner prompted NASA to bring the spacecraft back to Earth without its crew, resulting in an unexpected extension of the astronauts’ stay on the ISS until February 2025.
During the live conference, the astronauts are expected to discuss their ongoing scientific research, life aboard the space station, and their experiences throughout this extended mission. The call presents a rare opportunity for the public to hear firsthand about their work and well-being during their prolonged time in space.
In a notable development, the ISS crew recently expanded with the arrival of NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner. The new team members will work alongside Williams and Wilmore until spring 2025, contributing to the station’s scientific endeavors.
Health monitoring remains a critical activity for the crew. Williams and Wilmore recently underwent thorough eye examinations using standard medical imaging technology, with support from ground teams monitoring the procedures in real-time. In addition to health checks, the astronauts have been actively engaged in various scientific tasks onboard the orbiting laboratory.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
