Speaking in an orbital interview, NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams finally addressed Elon Musk’s jaw-dropping claim about why after nine months, they’re still stuck in space.
After their week-long test flight turned into an epic sci-fi nightmare, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams became a year older while trapped in space.
On June 5, 2024, the two astronauts blasted off into orbit, becoming the first crew to ride Boeing’s new Starliner capsule on what was meant to be a week-long test flight.
However, their journey took an unexpected turn.
After battling a series of thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, the two retired Navy captains finally reached the International Space Station (ISS), the research station orbiting about 250 miles above the earth.
With NASA declaring the Starliner too risky for a return trip, their mission was extended, and they’ve been waiting for a SpaceX Dragon craft to rescue them.
‘Different path’
Despite the unforeseen extension, Williams, who turned 59 in September, and Wilmore, 62 as of December 29, adapted seamlessly to their extended mission. Williams, who assumed command of the ISS in September 2024, and Wilmore contributed to various scientific experiments, station maintenance, and even addressed unexpected challenges, such as repairing a malfunctioning toilet.
Despite being stuck, a term NASA avoids using, the duo remains unshaken, with Wilmore putting a positive spin on their situation: “We’re just on a different path,” Tennessee’s Wilmore said in an earlier interview. “Mindset does go a long way. I don’t look at these situations in life as being downers.”
And, Commander Williams said, “I like everything about being up here.” Speaking in December with elementary students at the Massachusetts school named after her, she adds, “Just living in space is super fun.”
Now, the astronauts say they are ready to return home.
‘Abandoned in space’
On January 28, President Donald Trump blamed Joe Biden’s administration for the Starliner crew’s extended stay in space, saying he had asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to “go get” the two “brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration.”
The same day, Musk followed up Trump’s request with a tweet to his 219.3 million followers. “The POTUS has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the [Space Station] as soon as possible. We will do so,” he wrote. “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Continuing the blame against Biden over the next several weeks, Musk shared another tweet, saying his offer to bring Wilmore and Williams back to earth was “flatly refused” by Trump’s predecessor.
“The real issue is that they did not want positive press for someone who supported Trump,” he claimed in the February 20 post. “That’s it. End of story.”
‘Political reasons’
In a recent joint interview with President Trump, Musk doubled down with his mudslinging, telling Fox News the astronauts “were left up there for political reasons, which is not good.”
Musk continued: “Well, we don’t want to be complacent, but we have brought astronauts back from the space station many times before, and always with success.”
Weighing in, Trump also blamed Biden: “He was going to leave them in space…I think he was going to leave them in space.”
Comments dismissed
Starliner Commander Wilmore dismissed any political influence over the crew’s prolonged stay in space. However, he didn’t comment on previous remarks by Trump and Musk, who suggested that the Biden administration had “abandoned” the crew in orbit.
“We have no information on that, though…what was offered, what was not offered, who it was offered to, how that processes went. That’s information that we simply don’t have…” Wilmore said in an orbital press conference on March 4, of the “flatly refused” offers Musk discussed.
The father of two girls praised the president and his aide, saying: “Obviously, we’ve heard some of these different things that have been said…I can tell you at the outset, all of us have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk and obviously, respect and admiration for our president of the United States, Donald Trump.”
Next, referring to the “political” excuse made by the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Starliner commander added, “From my standpoint, politics is not playing into this at all. We came up prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short. That’s what we do in human space flight. That’s what your nation’s human space flight program is all about, planning for unknown, unexpected contingencies. And we did that.”
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