'We weren't stuck': Nasa astronauts tell of space odyssey and reject claims of neglect

[highplainsdem]

Source: Guardian

In the end, whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump liked to insist, astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams were never stuck, nor stranded in space, and definitely not abandoned or marooned.

The world heard on Monday, for the first time since their return to Earth two weeks ago, from the two Nasa astronauts whose 10-day flight to the international space station (ISS) last summer turned into a nine-month odyssey. And their story was markedly at odds with the narrative painted from the White House.

Wilmore and Williams were speaking to reporters at a press conference in Houston, hours after a joint appearance on Fox News, and reaffirmed that they never felt neglected or in need of the rescue the president insisted was necessary.

Instead, they said, they calmly assumed duties as members of the space station crew – “planning for one thing, preparing for another”, Wilmore said – while a political firestorm over their status raged back on the ground.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/31/nasa-astronauts-iss-trump-musk

[maxsolomon]

1. The Boeing capsule they were supposed to return on

actually returned safely - but unmanned.

[BidenRocks]

3. There were too many leaks impacting

thruster reliability. The propellent charging system had leaks.
The capsule could just as easily tumbled to a fiery disintegration.
Err on the side of safety and be alive to debate it later.

[Linda ladeewolf]

2. It sounds to me,

Like they were happy to get stuck up there and have a bit more time in space. I think they enjoyed being there.