NASA astronauts break silence for first time since their return after 8 day mission spiralled into 9 months

Even though Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were only supposed to be in space for a mere eight days, we imagine the dread soon set in when they realized their damage Boeing Starliner was going to be flown back to Earth without them.

That eight day mission ended up being 286 days, with the eyes on the world on Williams and Wilmore when they finally made splashdown on March 18.

They were quickly rushed off on stretchers and were run through a series of tests before being thrown into a brutal 45-day rehab regime.

Williams wife admits that he's been struggling with stamina since landing back on Earth, although she said he's still been going to work at NASA every day.

Williams and Wilmore themselves have obviously been a little quiet but look in great health and spirits in their first proper interview since getting back from space.

Speaking to Fox News, the pair explained everything from the moment they realized their mission was going to be extended to who should take the blame for their lengthy stay in the stars.

When asked about the 'failure' of their mission, a Williams admitted: "There are many questions that as the commander of CFT (Crew Flight Test), I didn't ask, so I'm culpable, I'll admit that to the nation.

"There are things that I did not ask that I should have asked. I didn't know at the time I needed to ask them. But in hindsight, the signals, some of the signals were there."

Saying that while both Boeing and NASA are culpable, he explained: "Everybody has a piece in this because it did not come off."

As for the idea that they were 'stranded' or abandoned up there, he added: "In certain respects, we were stuck. In certain respects, maybe we were stranded.

"But based on how they were couching this, that we were left and forgotten and all that, we were nowhere near any of that at all.

"So stuck? Okay. We didn't get to come home the way we planned. So in one definition, we're stuck. But in the big scheme of things, we weren't stuck. We were planned, trained."

Williams sees it as an important learning curve, saying: " “[It allows them to] understand that our involvement as a country, as a spacefaring nation, is really important throughout the world. It sets an example, and it shows our ability to be able to do the hard things, put people in space, operate in space, work in space, and then bring us back. It’s important, and I appreciate that.”

She went on to highlight the involvement of Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, with the latter telling the tech billionaire to go get them.

After Wilmore thanked then and said he has huge rspect for them, Williams concluded: "I’m just glad that they’re involved and they’re taking notice."

She said their plight aboard the ISS "allowed a lot of people, including the president and Elon, to look at what’s going on at the International Space Station, take it very seriously and understand that our involvement as a country, as a space faring nation, is really important throughout the world."

Ironically, both said they'll be more than happy to go back into space. For now, they're focusing on getting back to their pre-flight health while hopefully avoiding any of those long-term side effects.