It's safe to say that Elon Musk isn't exactly the most popular person in the world of astronauts right now, as he's been widely criticized for his social media outbursts, leading one NASA captain to issue him with a challenge.
One of the big pushes from both Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump since the latter regained power is to bring back 'stranded' astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station.
It has been well publicized that the pair have been 'stuck' in space since June 2024, as what was initially an eight-day expedition has spiraled over seven months and counting.
At the root of the issue was their Boeing Starliner spacecraft, as technical issues prevented them from taking it back once their short mission had reached its completion.
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Instead, they've been waiting for the SpaceX Crew-10 mission arrive before their Crew-9 ship takes them back to Earth, as NASA mandates that anyone leaving the ISS must complete a handover process, but mechanical issues with that flight have unfortunately persisted.
Shortly after returning to office President Trump commanded Musk, CEO and founder of SpaceX, to 'go get' the pair, adding that they had been 'virtually abandoned' by the previous Biden administration.
Musk further asserted this belief in an interview on Fox News, outlining that he believes that Wilmore and Williams were "left up there for political reasons."
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This didn't sit well with a number of current and former astronauts, who took to social media to push back against Musk's claims. ESA astronaut Andreas Morgensen argued in response to Musk:
"What a lie. And from someone who complains about lack of honesty from the mainstream media."
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Musk then directly responded to this push back, calling Morgensen "full r*******" and an "idiot" while reasserting his original position. Morgensen then pointed out:
"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."
Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly then came to Morgensen's defense, offering evidence of his expertise and adding that Musk's 'rhetoric' is "beyond the pale but, sadly, not surprising."
What was also not surprising is that Musk continued to bite back, claiming once more that Morgensen is an 'idiot' and also firing shots at Scott's twin brother - fellow former NASA astronaut and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
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Mark Kelly, as reported by Futurism, then hit Musk in a way that he's seemingly found it difficult to respond to, offering a rather unexpected but painful challenge.
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"Hey @ElonMusk," Kelly began, "when you finally get the nerve to climb into a rocket ship, come talk to the three of us."
He then continued throwing punches in additional posts, adding that "if Elon's ready to go to space, I'm happy to go with him. I know where the space station is. In the meantime, he should stop trying to drag our astronauts into political fights."
Despite being a keen space enthusiast and one of the most important individuals in the world of space travel, Musk has indeed never been into space - at least not in the capacity of the astronauts he's fighting with online - and this point has clearly proven to be something that even he can't spin in his own favor.