Washington, D.C., February 19, 2025 – In a recent interview, SpaceX chief Elon Musk surmised that the ongoing stay of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had been prolonged by political, rather than scientific or technical problems. After arriving yet on the ISS since June 2024, an eight-day mission plan had been extended.
Long Duration
Williams and Wilmore blasted off for the ISS on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June 2024. Almost immediately after reaching the ISS, technical troubles with the Starliner arose-principal among these were thruster bugs and helium leaks, which rendered the spaceship unfit for the return trip. It was therefore decided that NASA would contrive to leave the astronauts on the ISS until a flawless return vehicle could be secured.
Political Implications
In a Fox News joint interview with Donald Trump, Musk said, “They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good.” President Trump remarked, “He [Biden] was going to leave them in space. I think he didn’t want the publicity.” Such comments strongly suggest that the choices made by the former administration, at least in some cases, were guided by political considerations rather than by technical assessments alone.
USDA Responds and Plans their Safe Return
NASA had been very actively, and even still is, working with NASA to determine a way to fly the astronauts back. The agency has earmarked March 12, 2025, to launch Crew-10 with a new crew aboard to the ISS on a SpaceX rocket-a mission that would allow Williams and Wilmore to join their new crew seven days later for a ride back to Earth, approximately on March 19. The NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager, Steve Stich, said that NASA believes in the safety of the astronauts and the success of the mission.
The view from the other side
Both Williams and Wilmore have spoken with the press about the long stay. “We’re not abandoned; we’re not stuck; we’re not stranded,” Wilmore told CNN in one interview. Williams remarked that “it was a little longer stay than we had anticipated, but we made the most of it.” Both of these comments emphasize their resilience and commitment toward the mission in light of extended operations that they could not have planned on.
Dislocation Operations
During their extended stay, the astronauts continued their contribution toward operations on the International Space Station by performing spacewalking and maintenance operations. Williams’s time of 60 hours and 21 minutes in a spacesuit made her, in fact, the lady astronaut to hold the record for accumulated spacewalk time, surpassing that of her predecessor Peggy Whitson. These tasks exemplify the crew’s flexibility in dedication to advancing scientific research and maintaining the station’s operation.
What lies ahead
Crew-10 is the next great step toward getting Williams and Wilmore home safely. In the lead-up to launch, NASA and SpaceX are conducting exhaustive preparations to assure the success of the mission. It also serves to uncover the messiness and hurdles that comprise human spaceflight, where tech issues, operational decisions, and political factors intermingle to labor with mission timelines and astronaut experiences.
