Elon Musk said on Fox News Tuesday that SpaceX offered to save astronauts several months earlier than planned, but his offer was turned down by the Biden administration due to “political reasons.”
After a nine-month stay at the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, initially scheduled for a week-long mission on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June, have safely returned to Earth through the help of Musk’s SpaceX. During an appearance on “Hannity,” Musk was asked if he previously offered to bring home the astronauts earlier. He said that he offered but was rejected.
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“We definitely offered to return the astronauts earlier. There’s no question about that,” Musk said. “The astronauts were only supposed to be there for eight days, and they’ve been there for almost 10 months. So obviously that doesn’t make any sense. SpaceX could have brought the astronauts back after a few months at most. And we made that offer to the Biden administration. It was rejected for political reasons, and that’s just a fact.”
NASA astronaut Wilmore previously confirmed Musk’s claims, despite initially denying that politics influenced their delayed departure. Wilmore said he trusts Musk and supports President Donald Trump, but admitted that he and Williams were unaware of the details of their behind-closed-doors rescue discussions.
“I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual … I believe him,” Wilmore told New York Post.
Williams and Wilmore got stranded on the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that they launched into orbit on June 5, 2024. According to LiveScience, five helium leaks and five failures in the reaction control system thrusters prolonged their stay in space beyond the planned duration.
Prior to their launch, the astronaut mission was postponed when a valve anomaly was detected in the Starliner capsule’s liquid oxygen tank, disrupting the planned takeoff. The United Launch Alliance called off the flight to the International Space Station after observing oscillating behavior in a pressure regulation valve during pre-launch operations, citing safety concerns for both flight and ground crews in their decision to scrub the launch.
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