Musk in X spat with Danish astronaut over 'abandoned' ISS crew / Photo: Gregg Newton - Gregg Newton/AFP/File
-
French Open sensation Boisson returns to action after 'most difficult' spell
-
UK's Starmer admits should never have named Mandelson as US envoy
-
Elon Musk snubs Paris prosecutors' summons over X and Grok
-
Desmond Morris: from 'Naked Ape' to watching 'Big Brother'
-
Rosenior says Chelsea owners supportive despite slump
-
Oil jumps on Hormuz tensions, stocks retreat
-
Romania legend Hagi eyes 'winning every game' on return as coach
-
Rana stars as Bangladesh down New Zealand to level ODI series at 1-1
-
Real Madrid coach Arbeloa launches stout defence of Mbappe
-
Pope Leo blasts 'exploitation' on visit to resource-rich Angola
-
Amy Winehouse's father loses suit against friends selling her clothes
-
Japan issues warning after 7.7-magnitude quake hits north
-
UniCredit woos Commerzbank shareholders in takeover battle
-
European stocks slide as oil jumps on Hormuz tensions
-
Amy Winehouse's dad loses suit against friends for selling clothes
-
Slovenian liberal Golob fails to form government
-
Elon Musk summoned over French X deepfake probe but presence unclear
-
Tsunami warning as major quake hits northern Japan, shakes Tokyo
-
Rana takes 5-32 as Bangladesh bowl out New Zealand for 198
-
Anthropic says will put AI risks 'on the table' with Mythos model
-
Iran says no plan for US peace talks
-
Iran executes two more members of exiled opposition: group
-
Pope Leo visits Angola's diamond-rich northeast
-
US begins 'biggest ever' Philippines war games in thick of Mideast conflict
-
Bulgaria ex-president wins parliamentary majority
-
Oil prices jump on Iran war escalation but stocks up on peace hope
-
US begins 'biggest ever' Philippines war games in thick of Mideast war
-
Anxiety lingers in divided Kashmir a year after shooting attack
-
Hit reality show helps rev up Japan's delinquent youth subculture
-
Magic shock Pistons as Thunder and Celtics win big in NBA playoffs
-
Oil prices bounce back on Iran war escalation
-
Residents return to ravaged homes months after Hong Kong fire
-
Australia's Green wins playoff for third LPGA LA Championship title
-
Pakistan's military chief takes lead on US-Iran talks in diplomatic blitz
-
Thunder, Celtics open NBA playoffs with big wins, Magic shock Pistons
-
US begins Philippines war games in thick of Middle East conflict
-
Who's Bad? Not Michael Jackson in new big-budget biopic
-
Nations gather for first-ever conference on fossil fuel exit
-
Money, lobbyists, inertia: why fossil fuels are so hard to quit
-
France summons Elon Musk over X probe
-
'Save humanity': Four figures battling it out to lead embattled UN
-
Gilgeous-Alexander, Wemby, Jokic finalists for NBA MVP
-
Israel vows to level homes in Lebanon, counter threats with 'full force'
-
GA-ASI Completes MQ-9B 'Flight Into Known Icing' Flight Tests
-
U.S. Polo Assn. Debuts Global Flagship at a Top Miami Destination
-
Rahm coasts to LIV Golf win in Mexico City
-
Fitzpatrick survives Scheffler playoff to win RBC Heritage
-
Thunder thrash Suns, Celtics crush Sixers in NBA playoff openers
-
Bulgaria's former president tops parliamentary vote
-
Kenyans Korir, Lokedi seek to repeat at Boston Marathon
NYSE - LSE
Musk in X spat with Danish astronaut over 'abandoned' ISS crew
The world's richest man Elon Musk got into a heated row Thursday with a Danish astronaut who criticized the tech billionaire's claim that former president Joe Biden intentionally abandoned two American astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Andreas "Andy" Mogensen had shared on X a Fox News clip featuring Musk and his boss, US President Donald Trump, where Musk claimed NASA's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were left stranded on the orbital outpost for "political reasons" by Biden, and that the new administration was now coming to the rescue.
"What a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media," wrote the 48-year-old European Space Agency astronaut, who has flown to the ISS twice, including aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule during a 2023 mission.
Musk responded by calling Mogensen "fully retarded," adding that "SpaceX could have brought them back several months ago" and that he had made such an offer to the Biden administration, without elaborating on what that offer entailed.
Wilmore and Williams flew to the ISS in June aboard a Boeing Starliner for what was meant to be an eight-day test mission to certify the new spaceship.
But thruster problems led NASA to decide that Starliner should return without its crew, and the agency tasked SpaceX with bringing the veteran astronauts home.
NASA then announced the pair would return on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission's spaceship, which launched in September with a crew of two instead of four in order to accommodate them.
The voyage home was initially scheduled for February but later shifted to March due to delays by SpaceX in preparing the spacecraft for Crew-10, whose crew will replace Crew-9's.
If there was an alternate rescue plan that could have been executed sooner, Musk has not revealed it.
"Elon, I have long admired you and what you have accomplished, especially at SpaceX and Tesla," Mogensen replied to Musk's missive.
"You know as well as I do, that Butch and Suni are returning with Crew-9, as has been the plan since last September. Even now, you are not sending up a rescue ship to bring them home. They are returning on the Dragon capsule that has been on ISS since last September."
O.Farraj--SF-PST
