NASA Astronauts Push Back Against ‘Abandoned in Space’ Conspiracy as Trump Fuels Starliner Controversy

By Justin Jest – Gonzo Journalist, Reluctant Realist, Connoisseur of Chaos

Astronauts are not abandoned in space.

They are not “stranded,” not forgotten, not floating helplessly in the void, waiting for Elon Musk to fire up a SpaceX rescue mission.

Yet somehow, in early 2025, NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams found themselves at the center of a political circus, with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk loudly claiming they had been abandoned by the U.S. government.

It all started when Starliner, Boeing’s troubled astronaut capsule, ran into serious technical problems that forced NASA to extend the crew’s stay on the International Space Station (ISS).

For NASA, this was a carefully managed safety decision—for Trump and Musk, it was an opportunity to turn a routine mission delay into a full-blown scandal.

The astronauts, still in orbit, fired back at the nonsense:

“We are not stranded.”

NASA’s Starliner Test: The Mission That Refused to End

Wilmore and Williams were supposed to be in space for about a week. Instead, their mission has stretched into nine months.

That’s the kind of timeline shift that would make most people lose their minds, but for NASA veterans? It’s just another work assignment.

Their mission was meant to be a simple test flight for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, proving that the capsule was ready for full-time astronaut transport. If all went well, NASA would have two reliable ways to get astronauts to the ISS: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner.

Instead, Starliner’s problems began almost immediately.

• Five thrusters failed on approach to the ISS.
• Helium leaks were discovered in its propulsion system.
• NASA engineers were not confident the capsule could safely execute re-entry.

With a compromised spacecraft, NASA made the only logical choice:

• Leave the astronauts on the ISS, where they’re safe.
• Send Starliner home empty.
• Have Wilmore and Williams return on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon—already planned as a backup.

This wasn’t a panic move. It was a standard NASA precaution, a conservative decision from an agency that has learned the hard way that rushing an unsafe spacecraft is how people die.

But that’s not how Trump and Musk spun it.

Trump and Musk: Theatrics in Zero Gravity

Trump, never one to resist an opportunity to make spaceflight political, jumped on social media and claimed:

“Biden has abandoned our astronauts!”

Of course, Biden was no longer in office.

That didn’t matter. In Trump’s version of reality, NASA was leaving its astronauts in orbit to cover up Starliner’s failure.

Then Musk piled on:

• He suggested that the astronauts were being kept in space “for political reasons.”
• He called the mission delays “ridiculous.”
• He even said SpaceX was ready to rescue the astronauts at Trump’s request.

The problem?

NASA already had a return plan.

NASA, in fact, had made this call months earlier, well before Trump’s conspiracy theories. There was no abandonment. No conspiracy. No neglect.

The astronauts themselves shut the whole thing down.

Astronauts Clap Back: “We Are Not Stranded”

From orbit, Suni Williams had to address the growing nonsense from Earth:

“I don’t think I’m abandoned. I don’t think we’re stuck up here.”

The ISS isn’t a prison. It’s a fully stocked orbital research facility, with:

• Plenty of food, water, and air.
• Constant resupply missions.
• A clear, scheduled return home.

Williams also responded to a bizarre conspiracy claiming she looked thinner in photos, implying she was suffering from neglect.

She explained the obvious reality—microgravity shifts fluids in the body, making astronauts appear thinner or puffier over time.

Not only were she and Wilmore safe, they were integrating into ISS life, conducting research, maintenance, and helping with upcoming spacewalks.

Boeing’s Starliner: A Billion-Dollar Embarrassment, Not a Deathtrap

The real issue here is not abandonment, but Boeing’s ongoing struggles with Starliner.

• The thruster failures were a repeat of earlier Starliner test flight issues.
• The helium system leaks could have led to propulsion failure during re-entry.
• NASA engineers didn’t trust the capsule to perform a safe landing.

The solution?

• Send Starliner back to Earth empty.
• Have the astronauts wait for a safer ride home.
• Let Boeing fix its problems before anyone flies on it again.

This was a responsible call, not a disaster, and certainly not a cover-up.

Yet, Trump and Musk weaponized the delay, turning a NASA safety measure into a crisis that never existed.

Why Spaceflight is Now a Political Circus

This isn’t the first time spaceflight has been used as political ammunition.

• The Apollo program was a Cold War chess piece.
• The Space Shuttle era was rife with budget battles.
• Obama canceled the Constellation program, and conservatives called it surrender.
• Trump created the Space Force, and liberals mocked it.

Now, in 2025, space has become a culture war battlefield, where:

• NASA can’t make safety decisions without politicians spinning them.
• A failed spacecraft is turned into a partisan scandal.
• Musk is openly aligning himself with Trump’s alternate version of reality.

Trump and Musk both need villains—for Trump, it’s the government. For Musk, it’s Boeing, his biggest rival in commercial spaceflight.

So, what do they do?

• Turn a Boeing failure into a Biden failure.
• Turn a NASA decision into government incompetence.
• Position SpaceX as the only company that “can get the job done.”

This isn’t about astronauts.

This is about power, money, and control over the future of spaceflight.

Final Thoughts: The Next Time Trump Says Astronauts are Abandoned…

NASA isn’t reckless.

NASA doesn’t leave people behind.

Wilmore and Williams were never stranded—they were waiting for the safest ride home.

And now, thanks to Trump and Musk, a routine safety call has become the latest political firestorm in low Earth orbit.

So, the next time someone claims “our astronauts were abandoned in space,” remember:

• The astronauts themselves refuted it.
• NASA had a plan in place months before this became a controversy.
• And the only people turning a spacecraft delay into a scandal are the ones looking for attention.

Wilmore and Williams will return on schedule.

Starliner will be repaired.

NASA will keep putting safety first.

And the rest of us?

We’ll be stuck here on Earth, watching spaceflight turn into another talking point in the world’s dumbest political discourse.