NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) since June 5th. When U.S. President Donald Trump instructed SpaceX owner Elon Musk to retrieve the astronauts, former President Joe Biden was accused of abandoning them. Astronaut Williams, in an interview with CBS, responded to Trump by stating that they do not feel abandoned. She said, “No, we don’t feel abandoned. We feel like part of the team and it’s a great honor.” Williams, who is stranded on the ISS, made statements to CBS television.
After President Donald Trump instructed Elon Musk to pick up the astronauts stranded at the ISS recently, he claimed that the astronauts had been abandoned by the Biden administration. Williams, along with crewmate Barry Butch Wilmore, stated that they did not feel abandoned in space. Despite their mission being extended to over nine months from the original one week plan, Williams opposed dramatizing their situation.
Speaking to CBS, Williams refuted the idea of being abandoned, stating that they have food, clothes, and a way to return home if something bad happens at the International Space Station. She expressed her honor at being there and participating in worldwide scientific research, fulfilling the taxpayers’ desires. NASA reportedly plans to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth with the two other astronauts on the station, Crew 9 commander Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, around March 19th.
This return has been moved up by two weeks compared to the initial plan. The early return could occur as the Crew 10 team might be shifted to a different Crew Dragon spacecraft due to ongoing preparation delays with the original SpaceX vehicle for Crew 10. Assuming everything goes successfully, after a week of handing over processes following the arrival of Crew 10, the Crew 9 team would return to Earth.
Since Hague and Gorbunov arrived at the space station with Crew Dragon last September, two empty seats were reserved for Williams and Wilmore. President Trump blamed the Biden administration for the extended Starliner mission last month and asked SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on social media to “rescue” the astronauts. Musk mentioned that SpaceX is ready to resolve this issue and claimed that the Biden administration left the astronauts “there for a very long time.”
However, NASA officials clarified that these decisions were solely made by the NASA Commercial Crew and International Space Station programs, pointing out that the plan was already in effect with Crew 9’s arrival with empty seats in September. The astronauts did not need to be “rescued” as return vehicles had been waiting at the station for five months.
In response to Trump’s claims, Williams stated, “I don’t think those words were very accurate. We have lived on the space station before, we know how NASA and our commercial partners operate. We knew we would be here for a while. It’s our responsibility to conduct science and exploration for our international partners. Therefore, we already knew we would be sent here. No, we don’t feel abandoned. We feel like part of the team and it’s a great honor.” If all goes as planned, Wilmore and Williams will have spent approximately 290 days in space as part of their mission that began on June 5th.
Originally planned as just a one-week mission, this flight with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was extended due to thruster issues and helium leaks after launch. NASA spent weeks, followed by months, testing these technical malfunctions. Eventually, officials concluded that returning with Starliner was too risky. Therefore, the spacecraft was brought back unmanned, and Williams and Wilmore would return with Crew 9 crew.
Originally planned for February, the return was postponed for another month due to delays in the launch of Crew 10. Now, it is indicated that more time is needed.