Musk posts a silly tweet saying Trump wants SpaceX to rescue the Starliner astronauts and the press goes stupid again
Yesterday Elon Musk posted what appeared to be a completely silly tweet stating that Trump “has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Since a Dragon capsule for bringing these astronaut back to Earth is already docked to ISS and is scheduled to return in April, there is nothing really new about Musk’s tweet. Moreover, that April return was delayed an extra two months because of SpaceX, not Boeing or Biden. The company had requested that extra time to prepare the next crew capsule for launch, because it is a new capsule never used before.
It is of course possible that Trump requested SpaceX and NASA to reconsider this extra two month delay, and move the crew return back to February, but that change would either require SpaceX to find a different older capsule for the next crew, fly the new capsule sooner than planned, or have the total number of NASA astronauts on ISS reduced to just one until the new capsule launches with the new crew in March. None of these options seems wise.
I suspect nothing will change, and Musk was merely trolling the press. And the press mostly fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
- Florida Today: Elon Musk says Trump told SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home as soon as possible
- Orlando Sentinal: Elon Musk says Trump calls on SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home ASAP
- Reuters: Trump, Musk suggest sped-up return of NASA astronauts, but details scarce
- CBS: Trump asks SpaceX to bring “abandoned” Starliner crew home, blames Biden administration for inaction
- New York Times: Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Will Accelerate Return of NASA Astronauts
- Fox News: Trump, Musk join forces to bring stranded NASA astronauts back via SpaceX after Biden admin ‘abandoned’ them
- NY Post: Trump tasks Elon Musk, SpaceX to bring stranded NASA astronauts back after ‘Biden administration left them there so long”
- The Hill: Trump asks Musk to ‘go get’ NASA astronauts stuck in space
Most of these stories fail to outline the reasons for the most recent delays, having nothing to do with Biden. The last four especially make it sound as if SpaceX has suddenly been enlisted for a rescue mission, a claim that is utterly false.
None have been able to get any confirmation of any change of schedule from NASA or SpaceX, suggesting that Musk’s tweet was entirely blarney that a smart press would have ignored without that confirmation. Our stupid mainstream press however could not do that. It went whole hog based on nothing.
Until NASA announces a change in schedule there simply is no story here, and that’s what I am reporting.
Yesterday Elon Musk posted what appeared to be a completely silly tweet stating that Trump “has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Since a Dragon capsule for bringing these astronaut back to Earth is already docked to ISS and is scheduled to return in April, there is nothing really new about Musk’s tweet. Moreover, that April return was delayed an extra two months because of SpaceX, not Boeing or Biden. The company had requested that extra time to prepare the next crew capsule for launch, because it is a new capsule never used before.
It is of course possible that Trump requested SpaceX and NASA to reconsider this extra two month delay, and move the crew return back to February, but that change would either require SpaceX to find a different older capsule for the next crew, fly the new capsule sooner than planned, or have the total number of NASA astronauts on ISS reduced to just one until the new capsule launches with the new crew in March. None of these options seems wise.
I suspect nothing will change, and Musk was merely trolling the press. And the press mostly fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
- Florida Today: Elon Musk says Trump told SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home as soon as possible
- Orlando Sentinal: Elon Musk says Trump calls on SpaceX to bring Starliner astronauts home ASAP
- Reuters: Trump, Musk suggest sped-up return of NASA astronauts, but details scarce
- CBS: Trump asks SpaceX to bring “abandoned” Starliner crew home, blames Biden administration for inaction
- New York Times: Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Will Accelerate Return of NASA Astronauts
- Fox News: Trump, Musk join forces to bring stranded NASA astronauts back via SpaceX after Biden admin ‘abandoned’ them
- NY Post: Trump tasks Elon Musk, SpaceX to bring stranded NASA astronauts back after ‘Biden administration left them there so long”
- The Hill: Trump asks Musk to ‘go get’ NASA astronauts stuck in space
Most of these stories fail to outline the reasons for the most recent delays, having nothing to do with Biden. The last four especially make it sound as if SpaceX has suddenly been enlisted for a rescue mission, a claim that is utterly false.
None have been able to get any confirmation of any change of schedule from NASA or SpaceX, suggesting that Musk’s tweet was entirely blarney that a smart press would have ignored without that confirmation. Our stupid mainstream press however could not do that. It went whole hog based on nothing.
Until NASA announces a change in schedule there simply is no story here, and that’s what I am reporting.