But NASA officials have said the two astronauts have had to remain on the ISS to maintain adequate staffing levels, and that it did not have the budget or the operational need to send a dedicated rescue spacecraft.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/nasa-spacex-try-again-launch-rocket-set-bring-back-stuck-astronauts-2025-03-14/
There have been questions about why NASA didn't simply send up another crew to swap out the marooned pair, but now, NASA associate administrator for space operations Ken Bowersox has explained why they've been left aboard the ISS for 280 days (and counting). As always, it comes down to money. According to the Daily Mail, NASA's 2024 budget only stretched to $30 billion, meaning there wasn't enough left in the pot to send another mission up to rescue the pair.
NASA ultimately decided the funds couldn't be stretched, with Bowersox explaining: "The SpaceX folks helped us folks helped us with a lot of options on how we would bring Sunny and Butch home on Dragon [a capsule] in a contingency.
"They've been so helpful this last year, coming up with those options. When it comes to adding on missions or or bringing uh a capsule home early, those were always options."
https://www.uniladtech.com/science/space/nasa-reveals-reason-astronauts-were-left-in-space-831881-20250313
Jasmine Crockett makes AOC look like Margaret Thatcher.
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