Did Elon Musk Offer To Bring Astroanuts Back From Space? Sunita Williams's Starliner Colleague Says...

Last Updated:March 06, 2025, 09:15 IST

Elon Musk had earlier claimed that the Biden administration had turned down his offer to rescue the stranded astronauts back home "for political reasons".

Butch Wilmore (L) and Sunita Williams (R) addressing a news conference. (AP)

One of the NASA astronauts stranded at the Space Station (ISS) for nine months has seemingly confirmed tech billionaire Elon Musk’s claims that former US President Joe Biden had rejected his offer to bring the astronauts back home.

Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were expected to be gone just a week or so when they launched last June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, but technical issues forced their extended stay at the space station. They are expected to return via SpaceX’s Crew Dragon later this month.

During an orbital news conference, Wilmore and Williams addressed questions about political involvement in their space mission. When asked about whether Elon Musk’s claims that the Biden administration refused his offer to help return the two astronauts home “for political reasons", Wilmore said, “I can only say that Mr Musk, what he says is absolutely factual".

However, Wilmore said the astronauts did not have any information on the offer. “We have no information on that, though whatsoever. What was offered, what was not offered, who it was offered to, how that processes went. That’s information that we simply don’t have," he said.

This copy is being updated.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

News world Did Elon Musk Offer To Bring Astroanuts Back From Space? Sunita Williams's Starliner Colleague Says...