Musk Calls Who An Idiot?
Elon Musk, the tech mogul behind SpaceX and Tesla, recently clashed with a former commander of the International Space Station (ISS) after the astronaut pushed back against Musk’s claims about NASA’s handling of two astronauts stranded in space. Musk, known for his bold and sometimes controversial statements, accused the Biden administration of leaving astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in orbit for political reasons. He made the remark during a Fox News interview, asserting that President Trump had directed efforts to expedite their return after NASA delayed the process.
Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen fired back on social media, calling Musk’s assertion a “lie” and criticizing him for accusing others of dishonesty while making misleading claims himself. Musk didn’t back down, responding sharply to Mogensen, calling him an “idiot” and doubling down on his accusations. He even claimed that SpaceX could have brought the astronauts back months earlier but that the Biden administration had refused his offer to do so, citing political motivations behind the delay.
The situation revolves around the technical delays that NASA faced with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which was supposed to return Williams and Wilmore after their mission. A malfunction with the capsule forced NASA to delay their return, opting instead to integrate them into the Crew-9 mission aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. Originally scheduled for February, Crew-9’s departure was also delayed due to issues with the Dragon spacecraft, but NASA later decided to speed up the process and launch with a previously flown Dragon capsule, moving up the mission’s schedule.
Despite Musk’s criticism, Mogensen stuck to the facts, clarifying that the astronauts’ return had always been planned for Crew-9. Musk later expanded on his views regarding space exploration, suggesting that it might be time for humanity to move beyond the ISS and focus on Mars. He even proposed an accelerated timeline to deorbit the space station, pushing for its retirement as soon as two years from now.
This exchange highlights Musk’s willingness to challenge established norms, but it also sheds light on the complex, behind-the-scenes decisions that go into space missions and NASA’s cooperation with private companies like SpaceX. For Musk, the goal is clear—he wants to push the boundaries of space exploration and ensure that political red tape doesn’t stand in the way of progress.
