Elon Musk has been using his social media platform, X, to trade barbs with a European Space Agency astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station (ISS) after the astronaut took exception to Muskโs claims that former U.S. President Joe Biden left two Americans abandoned on the ISS on purpose.
The spat started on X Thursday and continued into Friday, with several other astronauts joining the fray after Danish astronaut Andreas โAndyโ Mogensen called out Musk for peddling an unsubstantiated claim in a Fox News television interview on Tuesday.
When asked about astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, whose eight-day test flight on Boeingโs Starliner aircraft turned into an eight-month stay aboard the ISS after the Starliner ran into problems, Musk insinuated to Fox that the Biden administration left them in space longer than necessary.
FILE โ This image made from a NASA live stream shows NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore during a press conference from the International Space Station on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
NASA via AP
โThey were left up there for political reasons,โ Musk, who owns SpaceX, said.
Mogensen, taking issue with the billionaireโs claim, posted: โWhat a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media.โ
Things quickly turned ugly, with Musk exploding into rage and called Mogensen an โidiotโ and a derogatory slur.
โSpaceX could have brought them back several months ago,โ Musk wrote. โI OFFERED THIS DIRECTLY to the Biden administration and they refused. Return WAS pushed back for political reasons. Idiot.โ
Musk did not elaborate on his alleged offer.
Mogensen quickly fired back, saying that while heโs admired Musk in the past, he wouldnโt stand for Muskโs misinformation.
โYou know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September,โ he wrote, referring to NASAโs plan to fly Wilmore and Williams back to Earth with two current space station crew members.
โEven now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September.โ
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Musk didnโt respond to Mogensenโs post, but three hours later he called for the end of the ISS.
โIt is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the [Space Station]. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility.โ
โLetโs go to Mars,โ he added.
On Friday, retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly came to Mogensenโs defence.
โI was Commander of the @ISS when Andy, @Astro_Andreas flew his first space mission. He is one of the most competent, trustworthy, and honest people Iโve ever met. This rhetoric is beyond the pale but, sadly, not surprising. He does not deserve this kind of disrespect,โ Kelly shared on X.
Musk proceeded to double down, calling Mogensen an โidiotโ again and taking a jab at Kellyโs twin brother, who happens to be an Arizona senator.
โHe is an idiot who publicly attacked me, despite having no idea what ACTUALLY happened,โ Musk wrote. โBtw, your brother claims to be independent, but is just a Dem donor shill.โ
Chris Hadfield, the beloved retired Canadian astronaut, waded into the mess, too, reposting comments he made regarding Williams and Wilmore last week.
โSuni and Butch have never been โstrandedโ in space,โ Hadfield wrote. โTheyโre prepared and committed to the mission, like all professional astronauts. Suniโs Space Station commander, theyโre doing spacewalks, working hard on behalf of NASA and all partners, having the time of their lives.โ
Earlier this month, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered Musk to โgo getโ Williams and Wilmore, NASA announced the pair will arrive back on Earth a little sooner than planned.
Trumpโs call was an unusual intervention by a president into NASAโs meticulously arranged ISS schedule and foisted Wilmore and Williams into an unlikely political spotlight.
The astronauts are among seven currently aboard the ISS, and they remain healthy and busy with routine scientific research aboard the orbiting outpost, NASA has said.
And while the astronautsโ unexpected stay has faced plenty of delays, itโs not unusual for space crews to end up on unexpected extensions. Strenuous, but standard, training prepares astronauts for lengthy stays in space.
โWe donโt feel abandoned, we donโt feel stuck,โ Williams told CNN last week. โHelp us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative. Letโs change it to โprepared and committed.โโ
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