NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore were left “stranded” aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after Boeing’s Starliner limped its way to the floating laboratory on June 5. The plan was to stay aboard the ISS for a week, but Williams and Butch are still yet to return to Earth – eight months later.
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Boeing’s first astronaut mission to the ISS ended in failure when the Starliner capsule returned to Earth without the astronauts in September last year. The capsule that transported the two NASA astronauts to the ISS for an intended week-long stay endured helium leaks on its way to the ISS, and after an evaluation by NASA it was determined the capsule didn’t meet safety standards for the return journey, resulting in both NASA astronauts having to stay aboard the ISS.
NASA doesn’t officially consider the astronauts “stranded” but instead has extended the mission duration for a return sometime in March 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. However, new information has come to light from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who recently appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he said that SpaceX offered to return both astronauts “early,” but the Biden administration rejected this offer for “political reasons.“
Musk explains that SpaceX’s offer to transport the astronauts back to Earth early was rejected as the Biden administration didn’t want “anyone who is supporting Trump look good“. Musk further adds the return date for Butch and Williams was intentionally pushed back past the inauguration date.