Barry “Butch” Wilmore, one of the astronauts stranded at the International Space Station, said statements from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggesting that former President Joe Biden declined to rescue them are factual — although he admitted he did not know the nature of the closed-door discussions.
Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams launched from their Boeing Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 for a mission set to last only eight days. However, after the spacecraft encountered technical issues, and NASA determined it unsafe for it to arrive back to Earth with the astronauts on board, Wilmore and Williams have remained stuck at the International Space Station for months.
Wilmore said he trusts Musk, who previously told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Feb. 18 that Biden left the astronauts in space for “political reasons.”
“I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual … I believe him,” Wilmore said Tuesday during an in-orbit press conference, according to the New York Post.
Even so, Wilmore later admitted that he had no first-hand knowledge of any talks that occurred to secure their rescue.
NASA ASTRONAUT SAYS STARLINER CREW LIKELY TO CHANGE EXERCISE ROUTINE DURING EXTENDED ISS STAY
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, both Expedition 71 Flight engineers, make pizza aboard the International Space Station’s galley located inside the Unity module on Sept. 9, 2024. (NASA via AP)
“We have no information on that, though, whatsoever,” Wilmore said. “What was offered, what was not offered, who it was offered to, how that process went. That’s information that we simply don’t have.”
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
SpaceX’s Dragon is slated to kick off a rescue mission Wednesday and arrive at a space station to retrieve Wilmore and Williams, according to NASA.
BOEING’S STARLINER SPACECRAFT LANDS BACK ON EARTH WITHOUT A CREW
President Donald Trump has promised to bring home two NASA astronauts stranded at the International Space Station. (Reuters)
“Elon (Musk) is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them,” President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday. “We love you, and we’re coming up to get you, and you shouldn’t have been up there so long.”
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“The most incompetent president in our history has allowed that to happen to you, but this president won’t let that happen,” Trump said.
Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
