Astronauts Refute Musk’s ‘Rescue’ Story: We Were Never Abandoned

India-West News Desk

HOUSTON, TX – Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams remained diplomatic but firmly rejected claims that they had been abandoned in space or required a dramatic rescue. Despite what Elon Musk and Donald Trump insisted, the two NASA astronauts were never stuck, stranded, or marooned—and they made that clear when they spoke publicly on March 31 for the first time since their return to Earth.

Speaking at a press conference in Houston, just hours after appearing on Fox News, Wilmore and Williams in both sit downs, refuted the White House narrative that they needed to be “saved.”

“We were planning for one thing, preparing for another,” Wilmore said, explaining how they transitioned into their roles as ISS crew members while political controversy swirled on Earth.

At the press conference, NASA aimed to focus on the scientific research the astronauts conducted in space. However, when asked about the claims that they were “abandoned by the Biden administration,” Wilmore acknowledged hearing the chatter.

“The stuck and marooned narrative … yes, we heard about that,” he said, “The plan changed dramatically from what we originally expected,” he admitted. “But that’s the nature of human spaceflight—we prepare for contingencies. This path had unexpected turns, but that’s what we train for.”

During their Fox News interview, Wilmore directly addressed Elon Musk’s false claim that they had been abandoned. When asked if he felt “stuck, stranded, or marooned,” Wilmore gave a measured response.

“Any of those adjectives, they’re very broad in their definition,” he said.

“Stuck? Sure, we didn’t return home as planned. But in the bigger picture, we weren’t stuck. We planned and trained for contingencies. And as for this idea that ‘they failed us’—who’s ‘they’?”

Williams also avoided engaging in political debate, saying her focus in orbit remained on the mission.

“You get a little bit tunnel-visioned … you do your job, and you’re not really aware of everything going on down there,” she said.

“I hate to say the world doesn’t revolve around us, but we revolve around the world, or something like that,” she added. “We were just focused on our work and being part of the team.”

Crew 9 commander Nick Hague, who returned to Earth alongside Wilmore and Williams, reinforced that politics had no bearing on their mission.

“The politics don’t reach us when we’re making operational decisions,” Hague said. “As commander, my responsibility was the crew’s safety and ensuring their safe return.”

Musk, however, has continued to push the baseless claim that the astronauts were held in space for political reasons. While a SpaceX Dragon capsule did bring them home, that spacecraft had been docked at the ISS for months. Trump’s claim that he directed Musk to “go get the two brave astronauts” was entirely fictional.

Musk even escalated the controversy by arguing with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen online and attacking retired NASA astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly after they criticized his false narrative.

As for Boeing’s troubled Starliner, which remains under review for technical issues that prolonged Wilmore and Williams’ mission, both astronauts expressed confidence in its future.

Wilmore said, “We should look forward and focus on making the future even better.”