Posted on 02/23/2025 3:57:19 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
A public blame-game has erupted over who's responsible for leaving two NASA astronauts stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for over eight months.
Last week, Elon Musk blamed NASA's choice to extend Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore's ISS mission on 'political reasons' during a FOX News joint interview with President Donald Trump, who added that Biden was going to 'leave them in space.'
Rudy Ridolfi, a respected former Space System Commander in the US military, told DailyMail.com that 'the Biden administration's vitriolic hate for Elon' may have influenced how NASA handled the situation.
Williams and Wilmore embarked on what was supposed to be an eight-day ISS mission aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft last June. But their capsule was plagued by thruster issues and helium leaks before, during and after the launch.
These numerous technical issues drove NASA to postpone the astronauts' return flight, but the agency still entertained the possibility of using Starliner to bring them home and gave Boeing more than 12 weeks to try and fix the issues from the ground.
In late August, NASA officials decided there was still too much uncertainty about Starliner's performance and tapped SpaceX to bring Williams and Wilmore home instead, sending Starliner home uncrewed the following month.
But 'Elon coming to the rescue was not in the cards,' Ridolfi said. He suggested the reason NASA did not tap SpaceX sooner may have been due to the Biden administration's contentious relationship with its CEO, Musk.
'The Biden Administration relying on SpaceX to return the astronauts would put its decisions on Starliner into question,' he said. 'In their world, Boeing was the leading space company.'
Since that August decision, Williams and Wilmore's return date has been changed multiple times. Currently, NASA is aiming to bring them home around March 19 or 20.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
MASA is a government agency and subject to its politics.
Who wants to risk their life for that crap? Not me.
Are they republicans?
Never mind about this.
Let’s talk about “the bloodbath at USAID.”
Democrats are beyond despicable.
If you want to know what human life means to them, this situation is a perfect example.
Um, they were 'abandoned' on the full-scale ISS mockup in an on the ground NASA pool (complete with green screens)?
I was rather wondering the same thing.
Are they republicans?
That doesn’t matter. They tend to betray their own.
Now scheduled to return 5 March.
The demonrat party is of satan, no doubt about it.
I’m not sure.
Sad thing is, everyone wants more than one US human rated launch provider to the ISS. Everyone wants Boeing to succeed.
Apollo 13: “Failure is not an option.”
Joe Biden about Wilmore and Williams’ return: “Who cares about them? Not me!”
Boeing is like the government. Too big. Too corrupt.
Maybe Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin?
3 hour tour.
Those poor people.
Human life and well being only pertain to them.
Thay are playing handball with their own crap by now.
Note, when you see a newspaper article with a title like “NO, they’re not stranded”, you can reasonably assume from the dripping condescension that they are lying.
“No, Boeing Starliner’s NASA astronauts are not stranded in space. Here’s why.” | Space https://search.app/rincBQYHdWWvMKY9A
Or will Elon catch their spaceship on dry land?
If Boeing was all that and a bag of chips, they would’ve had them home by now. Therefore Boeing sux. Leave it to Space X to get the job done.
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