Nasa astronauts in the International Space Station for nearly 300 days have named and shamed who they think is to blame for leaving them stranded among the stars.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally set to return to Earth this month after Elon Musk announced a mission would be launched to retrieve them.
Their long-awaited homecoming is now scheduled for late March, following months of speculation about the reasons behind their prolonged mission.
The Nasa astronauts Barry Wilmore (left), Sunita Williams (right) and Nick Hague (center) have been stranded for nearly nine months
YouTube/NASA
The spacecraft is believed to have encountered serious technical difficulties, including helium leaks, failed thrusters, and a jammed propellant valve.
These malfunctions prevented the astronauts from returning in their original spacecraft as planned.
The astronauts recently addressed claims made by Musk regarding their delayed return.
Last month, Elon Musk made explosive claims about the astronauts' extended stay in space.
During an appearance on Fox News with Donald Trump, Musk alleged they were "left up there for political reasons, which is not good."
Elon Musk's SpaceX mission is expected to bring the stranded astronauts home in a matter of weeks
REUTERSOn his podcast with Joe Rogan, Musk further claimed that SpaceX had offered to rescue the astronauts last year, but the Biden administration rejected this offer.
"There is no way they're going to make anyone supporting Trump look good," Musk said, suggesting political motivations ahead of the November presidential elections.
Trump also accused the Biden administration of planning to "leave them in space".
Wilmore finally addressed these claims during a press conference from the ISS on Tuesday.
"Obviously, we've heard some of these different things that have been said. We have the utmost respect for Mr Musk and President Trump... but we know what we've lived up here," he stated.
When asked directly about Musk's allegations, Wilmore carefully responded: "Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual — but we have no information on that whatsoever."
Wilmore added that while politics is part of life, it did not play into their return.
The stranded astronauts are retired Navy officers who have continued their work aboard the space station whilst awaiting a solution for their return journey.
Nasa has been working on alternative arrangements since the technical issues became apparent.
The extended mission has meant the astronauts have spent more than 270 days longer in space than originally intended.
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Nasa has confirmed that SpaceX's Crew-10 mission is being fast-tracked to bring the stranded astronauts home.
The mission is scheduled to launch on 12 March, earlier than previously planned and was made possible by Nasa's decision to use a previously used SpaceX capsule.
The two crews will spend about a week together aboard the space station before Wilmore and Williams depart.
They will return alongside Nasa's Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
ISS
GETTY
The mission represents the culmination of months of planning to safely bring the astronauts back to Earth.
Despite their extended stay, Williams has maintained a positive outlook on their mission.
"This place is ticking. It's just really amazing, so I would say we're actually in our prime right now," she said during a news conference.
The retired Navy captain added: "We're here. We have a mission. We're just doing what we do every day, and every day is interesting because we're up in space and it's a lot of fun."
Williams revealed that what she is looking forward to most upon returning home is reuniting with her Labrador retrievers.
She noted that the "hardest" part of their extended stay was the wait endured by their families on Earth.
Despite widespread media characterisation of their situation, both astronauts have consistently rejected the notion they are "stranded" on the space station.
In a February interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Wilmore explained: "That's been the rhetoric. That's been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck - and I get it.
"We don't feel abandoned, we don't feel stuck, we don't feel stranded. If you'll help us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative. Let's change it to 'prepared and committed.' That's what we prefer."
