The strangest space odyssey has finally come to an end. Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have come home. Their planned eight-day mission to the International Space Station became a nine-month sojourn on board the orbiting laboratory.
The story involves technological glitches and accusations of political malfeasance.
The space odyssey of Williams and Wilmore began on June 5, 2023, when they lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in a Boeing CST-100 Starliner atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V. Starliner was envisioned to become the second crewed spacecraft alongside the SpaceX Crew Dragon to take people to and from the International Space Station.
The Starliner experienced helium leaks and thruster problems that made its use to return the two astronauts problematic. NASA and the crew at the ISS spent some weeks examining the spacecraft in an attempt to figure out what went wrong. Finally, the space agency made the decision to return the Starliner to Earth without Williams and Wilmore
Starliner landed in New Mexico without incident on Sept. 7.
NASA decided that the Crew 9 expedition to ISS would consist of an American astronaut, Nick Hauge, and a Russian cosmonaut, Aleksandr Gorbunov, instead of the usual four crew members. Williams and Wilmore would, in effect, become part of the crew rotation and would return to Earth when Hauge and Gorbunov did.
The Crew Dragon launched on Sept. 28 and arrived at the ISS the following day. For almost the next six months, Williams and Wilmore performed experiments and maintenance tasks on board the International Space Station.
In the meantime, tumultuous political events were happening on Earth. President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Then President Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to become president for a second term.
There followed a rather bizarre controversy. Did the Biden administration deliberately abandon Williams and Wilmore, passing up an opportunity to bring them home early?
The brouhaha started in January when Elon Musk announced on X that Trump had given him instructions to “rescue” the two astronauts.
“The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Later, Trump said, “I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration. They have been waiting for many months on Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”
Eric Berger, writing for Ars Technica, noted that the astronauts’ ride home, a Crew Dragon docked at the ISS, was always available. He could find no evidence that the decision to assign Williams and Wilmore to a multi-month stay on ISS went above then-NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
Musk stirred the pot further when he suggested on an episode of Hannity that the two astronauts were left on ISS for “political reasons.” European astronaut Andreas Morgensen suggested that that was a “lie.” Musk offered an ill-considered middle school retort calling Morgensen “retarded.”
Just to confuse matters more, during a press conference from the ISS, Wilmore, while denying that politics entered into their lengthy stay, also suggested that Musk was being accurate when he said he offered an early ride home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and was turned down by the Biden administration.
In a recent podcast with Sen. Ted Cruz, (R-Texas), Musk reiterated the story. He repeated the claim again in an interview on Hannity after the return of the astronauts. When the offer took place and what were the “political reasons” Biden turned it down were unclear. Musk has suggested that it was his status as a Trump supporter. The matter certainly merits an investigation.
Some media are referring to the launch of the Crew 10 and the subsequent return of Crew 9, including Williams and Wilmore, as a “rescue mission.” The meme of the “stranded astronauts”
being rescued by Musk has taken hold.
Musk was quick to post a video on X of the two astronauts thanking him and Trump for their ride home.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are home at last, which they would not be if not for Musk and SpaceX. They are getting reacquainted with an environment that has gravity, up and down, blue skies and green grass. An interesting chapter in their lives has drawn to a close.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of, “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?” as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond,” and, most recently, “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.
