The truth is outside of that.
Just don't expect to hear from NASA.
Almost everyone on Earth seems desperate to know how the true state of American astronauts Wilmore and Suni Williams Butcht whose 8-day mission to the international space station has been turned into an almost 9-month-old zero-swearing glog.
In June they launched Boeing's new Starliner Crew capsule at the ISS, but after the capsule encountered a cascade of Thrust problems and helium leaks, NASA decided that it was too risky to use the ship to bring them back to the earth.
Wilmore and Williams have been stuck since. But ask NASA about what is happening and you will always hear the same dubious answer – that Wilmore and Williams are not 'stranded' and that they are in fact grateful to float through space, more than 250 miles above their families, for a total of 274 days.
Well, as a former manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA, who worked almost a decade within the space agency and is now a consultant in the space industry, it is difficult to believe a word that NASA says.
The desk lost its way a long time ago.
It was amazing to hear Nasa's Wilmore – a former navy test pilot with three space flights under his belt – On Tuesday, the claiming of SpaceX founder Elon Musk seemed that the astronauts could have already been saved if the mission had not been blocked by Joe Biden's White House.
Almost everyone on earth seems to know desperately how the true state of American astronauts Wilmore (right) and Suni Williams (left) whose 8-day mission to the international space station has become a zero-heavy slog of almost 9 months.
In June, Wilmore and Williams launched on board Boeing's new Starliner Crew capsule at the ISS, but after the capsule came across a Cascade of Thruster problems and helium leaks, NASA decided that it was too risky to use the ship to bring them back to the earth.
“We offered to return them early, but the offer was rejected by the Biden administration,” said Musk on Monday on the podcast of Joe Rogan.
The next day Wilmore Musk seemed to support when asked about the claim: “I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely actually actually.”
Wilmore's teenage daughter, Daryn, was even more emphatically in a recently up -up social media post from February: 'There is a lot of politics, there are many things that I am not free to say … But there have been problems. There has been negligence. And that is why this has just been postponed. '
Although I do not claim to know what was said behind closed doors at NASA – and although I am not a fan of Elon Musk, of which I think it is reckless to the federal workforce – I would not doubt his claims either.
Jeff Nosanov (photo) is a former manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA, who worked almost a decade within the space agency and is now a consultant in the space industry.
No one on the NASA payroll is allowed to give their opinion freely. But as a former employee of the agency I can tell you what I believe it is the truth: our astronauts are at risk and accusations of political corruption at NASA should not be rejected.
First, space flight is inherently dangerous. Every time a person shoots on a rocket ship, we dare to kill them.
And although Wilmore and Williams indeed like to spend more time than they had expected in the service of their country, they want to return home.
After 274 days in zero-swearing, 59-year-old Williams approaches the record for the oldest woman to spend the longest piece in space.
Peggy Whitson spent 289 days in space when she was 56 years old. And Whitson knew what she started.
Williams – while he was aware of the danger of her mission – probably did not expect to be in the race for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
We know that women have a higher threat to suffer from the effects of osteoporosis, a loss of bone density that results in weak and brittle bones than their male counterparts. And older women run an even greater risk.
When Williams returns to the earth, the physical toll she has paid is studied.
And second, after decades that exist, NASA is on drift.
The agency was founded in 1958 to beat the Soviet Union in the Space Race and it did – a man on the Moon in 1969. But in the aftermath of the collapse of the USSR in 1991, NASA had trouble finding a new goal.
“We offered to bring them back early, but the offer was rejected by the Biden administration,” said Musk about the stranded astronauts on Joe Rogan's podcast.
Remember that the Apollo 17 mission marked the last moon landing in 1972. By 1992 America sent astronauts to a job around the earth. In 1998 the construction of the international space station – and it was completed in 2011. But now in 2025 the US is sending astronauts to the ISS but is struggling to get them at home. Our horizon has shrunk.
The problem is that NASA is more concerned with granting federal contracts than courageous to enter into a space travel.
NASA's most important contractor Boeing also suffered in this space age of fast -growing budgets and mediocre budgets.
All Americans are familiar with the problems that the commercial airlines of Boeing test. After a door plug a Boeing 737 Max Jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024, at least 20 whistleblowers came forward to claim that the space giant cut the corners to the safety to hurry as many aircraft as possible.
In March, Boeing's CEO David Calhoun resigned together with various top managers.
Is it a surprise then that Boeing's production problems have also expanded to its space distribution.
In June 2023, Boeing delayed the launch of the first Starliner capsule – the first to wear people in space – because of the discovery of hundreds of feet that was used to protect the wiring of the vessel.
Wilmore seemed to support Musk when he was asked about his claim: “I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely actually actually.” (Shown: Musk and Trump live a look at the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship Rocket in November).
Last August, when NASA decided that the Starliner capsule was too unsafe to return to earth with people on board, Boeing leaders exploded in the meeting reportedly.
'Boeing was convinced that the Starliner was in good condition to bring the astronauts home, and NASA did not agree. In fact, it didn't agree, “said an anonymous NASA director at the time. “Thinking here was that Boeing was wild irresponsible.”
That is horrifying.
Although there was still hesitation in NASA to cut Boeing loose.
After all, it was NASA who signed a $ 4.2 billion contract with Boeing for the development of Starliner and the mission that Williams and Wilmore had hold on to the ISS.
Now, after countless delays and far too much eclipse, Musk has the task of bringing our astronauts home.
SpaceX is preparing to launch his new Dragon Capsule for the ISS in about two weeks. Perhaps we finally have the best case scenario – Wilmore and Williams will be sent back to their families such as heroes and the truth will finally come true.
