NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore on why he and his crewmate are still in space 9 months longer than planned: From my standpoint, politics …

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore has stated that politics are not responsible for the extended stay he and pilot Sunita Williams are experiencing on the International Space Station, nearly nine months after their expected return to Earth. Wilmore’s comments essentially contradicts claims made by US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk in which they blamed the Biden administration for leaving the astronauts in space.
The duo launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, with plans for a week-long mission. However, they have now spent over 275 days in orbit, approximately 250 miles above Earth.
According to a report by Business Insider, Wilmore addressed the speculation in a recent press conference from the ISS about political motivations behind their delayed return.
“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,” Wilmore stated, as per the report.
The controversy around the matter intensified in January this year when Trump claimed on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Wilmore and Williams had been “virtually abandoned by the Biden Administration.”
Musk later echoed similar sentiments during an interview with Trump in February, suggesting the astronauts remained in space for “political reasons.” The SpaceX CEO also claimed on X that he had offered to bring the astronauts home on a SpaceX ship, but the Biden administration declined.
Wilmore, meanwhile, has acknowledged that politics are “part of life” and emphasised that he, Williams and fellow crew member Nick Hague support the US and its leaders.
The extended mission has resulted from technical problems with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. During the journey to the ISS, five of Starliner's reaction control system thrusters malfunctioned and the spacecraft's helium system developed a leak.
After extensive testing and reviews, NASA determined it could not rely on Boeing's spacecraft for the return journey and enlisted SpaceX's Crew Dragon to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth.
The astronauts are now expected to return in late March following the arrival of the new Crew-10 mission, scheduled to launch on March 12.