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Starliner astronauts to vote from space in US presidential election





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“Space mail-in voting,” a right of American astronauts that was authorized by a law passed in the state of Texas in 1997.

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) last June and, due to technical problems with the Boeing Starliner, will not return until February 2025, have secured their right to vote in the United States presidential elections on November 5.

This was confirmed this week at a conference and then, in a video published by NASA, they encouraged participation in the elections , which they considered “an important duty that all citizens have.”

Both have requested the so-called “space mail-in vote,” a right of American astronauts that was authorized by a law enacted in the state of Texas in 1997, and which has already been exercised on several occasions.

Votes cast from space are sent back to Earth via NASA’s Near Space Network, a communications service commonly used on the ISS that allows spacecraft to exchange critical data with mission operators on the ground.

Astronauts will cast their votes via a secure electronic link to the Clerk County, Texas, U.S., office of NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center.

According to NASA, astronauts receive an encrypted electronic form, complete the form, and it is sent to Earth.

However, shortly before reaching the station, helium leaks and failures in the propellant systems were detected, forcing the duration of the mission to be extended.

On September 6, the Starliner departed the ISS without its two crew members and about six hours later landed successfully in White Sands, which was the closing of an eventful mission whose objective was to obtain certification of the capsule by NASA so that it can operate as a transport and cargo service.

The two astronauts, known familiarly as Butch and Sunni, will return aboard Space X’s Dragon capsule in February but will be able to participate in the presidential elections on November 5.

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