Elon Musk shared a bizarre theory about why two NASA astronauts are stuck in space, and they have since responded.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty

NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams, 59, and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, 61, were supposed to be back on Earth months ago.

Instead, they’ve now spent nearly 300 days in space, marooned on the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical failures on their Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

The mission, which was originally scheduled to last just eight days, quickly turned into an extended stay after thruster failures, helium leaks, and a faulty propellant valve left their Starliner capsule compromised.

Rather than risk a dangerous return trip, NASA decided the safest option was to wait for SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to bring them home—now expected in March 2025 as part of Crew-9’s return mission.

Suni and Butch have been in space for nearly 300 days. Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty

Meanwhile, the situation has been further complicated by Elon Musk and Donald Trump, who claim the astronauts are only stuck for “political reasons” – a statement Wilmore has now directly addressed.

Elon Musk made headlines with a bold claim: “They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good,” he told Fox News during a joint interview with Donald Trump.

Trump doubled down, alleging that President Joe Biden was “going to leave them in space.”

Neither Musk nor Trump elaborated on what they meant by this claim or provided evidence to support it.

However, the implication that the astronauts’ extended stay was driven by political motives rather than technical issues stirred further debate.

Musk is quite outspoken when it comes to space travel and politics. Credit: Andrew Harnik / Getty 

During a press conference from the ISS, Wilmore directly responded to the comments, expressing respect for both Musk and Trump – but also clarifying that they don’t know the full story.

“Obviously, we’ve heard some of these different things that have been 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.”

He acknowledged that politics is part of life but pointed out that they know the situation better than anyone.

“We know what we’ve lived up here, we know the ins and outs and the specifics that they may not be privy to – and I’m sure that they have some issues that they are dealing with, information that they have that we are not privy to.”

However, despite trying to remain diplomatic, Wilmore admitted he had no direct knowledge of Musk’s claim.

“I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual – I have no, we have no, information on that though whatsoever, 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.”

Despite the political noise, NASA and SpaceX have officially set the astronauts’ return timeline.

In an update, NASA confirmed that SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission is targeting a March 12 launch, with Crew-9 bringing Williams and Wilmore back to Earth shortly after.

“NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station,” the agency stated.