ＩＳＳに取り残された宇宙飛行士「マスク氏を信じる」

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】昨年６月から国際宇宙ステーション（ＩＳＳ）に取り残されている米航空宇宙局（ＮＡＳＡ）のブッチ・ウィルモア飛行士は４日、実業家のイーロン・マスク氏が早期救助計画を提案したものの、当時のジョー・バイデン大統領に却下されたとするマスク氏の主張を信じていると述べた。（写真は、国際宇宙ステーション〈ＩＳＳ〉で写真撮影に臨む米航空宇宙局〈ＮＡＳＡ〉のニック・ヘイグ、サニ・ウィリアムズ、ブッチ・ウィルモア各飛行士とロスコスモスのアレクサンドル・ゴルブノフ飛行士）
　ウィルモア氏とサニ・ウィリアムズ飛行士は昨年６月、米航空宇宙大手ボーイングの宇宙船「スターライナー」の初有人飛行でＩＳＳに到着。当初は８日間の滞在予定だったが、スターライナーの不具合により、現在もＩＳＳに留まっている。
　２人の長期滞在は論争を呼んでおり、マスク氏とドナルド・トランプ米大統領は、バイデン前政権がマスク氏を「救世主」に見せないため、２人を見捨てたと主張している。
　元海軍テストパイロットのウィルモア氏は、「マスク氏の発言は完全に事実に基づいているとしか言えない」「すべての詳細を知っているわけではないが、彼を信じる」と述べた。
　マスク氏は最近のＦＯＸニュースのインタビューで、２人は「政治的な理由」で見捨てられたと主張。これに対し、デンマークのアンドレアス・モーゲンセン飛行士は「マスク氏は嘘をついている」と批判した。
　ＮＡＳＡは、スターライナーが有人での地球帰還には安全ではないと判断したため、昨年９月にＩＳＳに到着したクルードラゴン宇宙船「Ｃｒｅｗ－９」の２席を空け、両飛行士を帰還させる計画を数か月前から立てていたと説明している。
　代替案は公に議論されておらず、またＣｒｅｗ－９の帰還はスペースＸによって延期されている。これは、３月１２日に打ち上げ予定の「Ｃｒｅｗ－１０」の準備が遅れたためとされる。
　マスク氏のモーゲンセン氏に対する反論には知的障害者への差別的表現も含まれており、宇宙関連コミュニティから強い反発を招いた。ＮＡＳＡのスコット・ケリー、マーク・ケリー両飛行士はモーゲンセン氏を擁護し、マスク氏を批判している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/03/05-17:14）

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, stranded on the International Space Station since June, said Tuesday he believes Elon Musk's claim that the billionaire proposed an early rescue plan, but it was ultimately rejected by then-President Joe Biden.
Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams were originally scheduled for an eight-day mission, but their return was complicated when the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing was deemed unsafe for the journey home.
Their prolonged stay has recently become a point of contention, with Musk and President Donald Trump accusing Biden's administration of abandoning the pair to avoid making Musk look like a savior.
I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual, said Wilmore, a former Navy test pilot. He admitted he wasn't privy to the ins and outs of the drama, but added, I believe him. I don't know all those details.
Musk recently clashed online with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who accused him of lying in a Fox News interview when he claimed the astronauts were abandoned for political reasons.
Mogensen pointed out that, since the Boeing Starliner was deemed unsafe for return with people aboard, NASA had planned for months to bring Wilmore and Williams back on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September with two spare seats.
No alternative plan has been publicly discussed, and Crew-9's return has been delayed by SpaceX itself due to setbacks in preparing the Dragon spacecraft for Crew-10, now scheduled for launch on March 12.
Interrupting the standard crew rotation would also be a deviation from protocol, and extended astronaut stays are not unprecedented.
In 2023, Frank Rubio became the first NASA astronaut to spend over a year in space after a meteoroid damaged the Russian Soyuz spacecraft he rode up on.
Similarly, after the Columbia disaster in 2003, when a shuttle disintegrated during re-entry, NASA suspended flights for two years, forcing astronauts to rely on Soyuz and extend their missions.
Musk's response to Mogensen included a slur for people with intellectual disabilities, sparking backlash from the space community. Former NASA astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly defended Mogensen and criticized the SpaceX founder.
Obviously, we've heard some of these different things that have been said, Wilmore commented. We have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk, and obviously respect and admiration for our president of the United States, Donald Trump. We appreciate them... and we're thankful that they are in the positions they're in.
Wilmore's remarks come just days after acting NASA administrator Janet Petro raised eyebrows by stating the agency aimed to put America first, echoing Trump's political slogan.
We're going to be putting America first, we're making America proud, we're doing this for the US citizens, she said before a private Moon lander touched down on Sunday -- a notable shift from NASA?s longstanding stance that its space achievements were for all mankind.