Sunita Williams and Wilmore deny politics delayed return to Earth, express 'utmost respect' for Trump, Musk
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally broke their silence amidst the reports that their return to earth was delayed due to politics
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally broke their silence amidst the reports that their return to earth was delayed due to politics. The duo reiterated that politics had nothing to do with their extended stay in space.
Williams and Wilmore's remarks comes after President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk accused the former Joe Biden administration for postponing their return from the International Space Station (ISS).
Blasting his predecessor, Trump claimed that his administration wanted to expedite the astronauts' return to Earth.
“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!!!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social as he lauded the two “brave” astronauts.
During an orbital press conference on Tuesday ahead of their planned return to Earth, Wilmore responded to the controversy, stating that he totally supports Musk and Trump.
“Obviously, we've heard some of these different things that have been said,” he said. “I can tell you at the outset, all of us have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk and obviously, respect and admiration for our president of the United States, Donald Trump.”
“The words they've said, politics, I mean, that's part of life. We understand that. And there's an important reason why we have a political system and the political system that we do have, and we're behind it 100%.”
Stressing that they arrived in space prepared to stay long, he said, “From my standpoint, politics is not playing into this at all.”
“We came up prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short. That's what we do in human space flight. That's what your nation's human space flight program is all about, planning for unknown, unexpected contingencies. And we did that.”
Sunita Williams reacts to Musk's proposal to abandon space station
Responding to a query, Williams, the three-time space station resident, did criticise Musk's recent proposal to abandon the space station in two years instead of waiting for NASA's anticipated deorbit in 2031. She mentioned all scientific studies are being conducted at the orbiting laboratory.
“This place is ticking. It's just really amazing, so I would say we're actually in our prime right now,” he said. “I would think that right now is probably not the right time to say quit, call it quits.”
Considering that NASA and other partner countries run the ISS, Williams and Wilmore stated that they should maximize its benefits for taxpayers and international partners, "hold our obligations and do that world-class science that this laboratory is capable of."
If all goes according to plan, on March 12th, cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, pilot Nichole Ayers, and Crew 10 commander Anne McClain will launch and make their way to the space station.
Wilmore, Williams, cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, and Crew 9 commander Nick Hague will assist their successors in settling in while on board before undocking and heading back to Earth on March 19.
