CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.>> Stuck-in-space astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Friday it was hard to watch their Boeing capsule return to Earth without them.

It was their first public comments since last week’s return of the Boeing Starliner capsule that took them to the International Space Station in June. They remained behind after NASA determined the problem-plagued capsule posed too much risk for them to ride back in.

“That’s how it goes in this business,” said Williams, adding that “you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity.”

Wilmore and Williams are now full-fledged station crew members, chipping in on routine maintenance and experiments. They, along with seven others on board, welcomed a Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American this week, temporarily raising the station population to 12, nearly a record.

The transition to station life was “not that hard” because both had previous stints there, Williams said.

The two Starliner test pilots — both retired Navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts — will stay at the orbiting laboratory until late February. They have to wait for a SpaceX capsule to bring them back. That spacecraft is due to launch this month with a reduced crew of two, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams for the return leg.

The two said they appreciated all the prayers and well wishes from strangers back home.

Their Starliner capsule marked the first Boeing spaceflight with astronauts.