The teen daughter of stranded NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore has revealed the first thing she plans to do when he returns to Earth on Tuesday.
Daryn, 19, told DailyMail.com that not only is she giving her dad ‘a big ole hug,’ but they are going to eat a pecan pie she baked, saying: ‘It’s his favorite dessert.’
Willmore and Sunita Williams are currently traveling back to Earth after leaving the International Space Station (ISS) where they were stuck for more than nine months.
They are set to splash down in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida at roughly 5:57pm ET today.
Wilmore’s wife, Deanna, and his two daughters, Daryn and Logan, live in Houston, Texas, where they have been patiently awaiting his return since June of last year.
‘I’m truly elated and thankful that he’s coming back today, Daryn said.
‘The Lord has blessed us in this time, and we know he’s in control of it.’
She also revealed that she, her mother and sister will be reunited with Wilmore ‘a few hours after’ he emerges from the capsule.
Butch Wilmore’s daughter, Daryn (left), told DailyMail.com that she baked a pecan pie for her dad to eat as soon as he gets home
Wilmore left behind his wife Deanna (left) and two daughters Daryin (center left) and Logan (center right) when he launched into space on June 5. Pictured: the Wilmore family attend the New York premier of ‘A Beautiful Planet’ in New York City in August, 2016.
Daryn previously said that her father being away has ‘been hard,’ noting that it was ‘less the fact that he’s up there’ and ‘more the fact of why.’
‘There’s a lot of politics, there’s a lot of things that I’m not at liberty to say, and that I don’t know fully about,’ she said in a TikTok video last month.
The video came just weeks before Elon Musk said said the Biden administration left them in space for ‘political reasons.’
During a February appearance the Joe Rogan Experience, Musk claimed he offered to bring the pair home eight months ago, but the Biden Administration shot it down because it would have made Trump ‘look good’ in the presidential race against Kamala Harris.
Daryn did not provide details about specific politics in her video, but said: ‘There’s been issues. There’s been negligence.
‘And that’s the reason why this has just kept getting delayed. There’s just been issue after issue after issue.’
But now her father and Williams are on their way home, following their over nine-month stay that was originally scheduled for just eights days.
The pair, along with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia ‘s Aleksandr Gorbunov, are in the middle of the 17-hour descent back to Earth.
‘Crew nine is going home,’ Hague, the commander of departing Crew Dragon, said from the spacecraft moments after they began their journey on Monday.
Wilmore (left) and Williams (right) along with NASA’s Nick Hague (second right) and Russia ‘s Aleksandr Gorbunov (second left), are in the middle of the 17-hour descent back to Earth.
‘On behalf of crew nine, it was a privilege to call space home… to live and work… in cooperation for the benefit of humanity.
‘To our colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station, we know the station is in great hands. We’re excited to see what you guys are going to accomplish and we’ll be waiting for ya [sic].’
Daryn said in February that her father ‘has been bummed but he’s chillen’ amid his delayed return.
‘I talk to my dad all the time,’ she said, adding that she calls him every day or every couple of days. ‘That makes things really nice.’
Daryn added that she misses her dad ‘so much’ and is looking forward to him seeing her take the stage in an upcoming theater performance and see Logan graduate high school this spring.
While stuck in space, Wilmore also missed most of his 16-year-old daughter Logan’s senior year of high school and Daryn’s college theater performances.
Logan has been open about missing her dad as well.
In a video posted in August, she shared a clip of her father getting ready to board Starliner followed by another of her hugging him, with the caption: ‘Not dead, just stuck in space. I’m not worried at all, just miss him!’
Another video in October served as a heartwarming tribute to her dad, featuring a slideshow of photos of the two of them together.
But the sisters have been able to keep in touch with their dad through regular video calls.
