 "Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore during a press conference from the International Space Station. The two have now spent over seven months in space. File image/AP")
Elon Musk was locked in a war of words with Danish astronaut Andreas “Andy” Mogensen on his social media platform X on Thursday (February 20).
The exchange, where Andy called Musk a liar, came after the SpaceX CEO accused former President Joe Biden of intentionally leaving two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for political reasons.
Mogensen, a European Space Agency astronaut who has flown to the ISS twice, including aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in 2023, disputed Musk’s claims, pulling no punches in his response.
“What a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media,” Mogensen, 48, wrote, sharing a Fox News clip where Musk made the allegations during an appearance with President Donald Trump.
Musk resorted to name-calling, telling Mogensen he was “fully retarded”. Musk claimed SpaceX could have brought the astronauts home months ago and that he had offered to do so.
There is little to no evidence to back up the claim Musk has made.
Mogensen pushed back against Musk’s assertions, writing: “Elon, I have long admired you and what you have accomplished, especially at SpaceX and Tesla. You know as well as I do that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even 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.”
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More ShortsButch Wilmore, Sunita Williams stuck in space
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams travelled to the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for what was intended to be an eight-day test mission.
However, after thruster issues emerged, NASA decided the Starliner would return without its crew. The agency assigned SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission to bring the astronauts home.
The Crew-9 spacecraft launched in September with only two crew members, leaving space for Wilmore and Williams. Their return, initially scheduled for February, was delayed until March due to SpaceX’s preparations for the Crew-10 mission.
With inputs from agencies