Abandoned by Biden: Astronauts' Harrowing Nine-Month Fight for Survival and Fear They'd Never Be Rescued

The Astronauts Biden let flail in space for months on end with no end in sight believed they might never make it home.

Astronauts who spent nine months on the International Space Station wondered if they’d ever return to Earth https://t.co/kOdRJOnenj pic.twitter.com/0C4kVb3tDQ
— New York Post (@nypost) May 31, 2025

At the very start of what was supposed to be a weeklong space mission, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore had to wonder if they’d ever make it back to the Earth’s surface.
As Williams and Wilmore approached the International Space Station last year, the thrusters on their Boeing Starliner capsule gave out, leaving the spacecraft unable to move forward.
When they realized they might not be able to dock on the ISS, a frightening — and as it turned out, prophetic — thought entered their minds.
At the very start of what was supposed to be a weeklong space mission, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore had to wonder if they’d ever make it back to the Earth’s surface.
As Williams and Wilmore approached the International Space Station last year, the thrusters on their Boeing Starliner capsule gave out, leaving the spacecraft unable to move forward.
When they realized they might not be able to dock on the ISS, a frightening — and as it turned out, prophetic — thought entered their minds.
After the craft was docked, Wilmore and Williams both considered the possibility they might never see Earth again.
“It definitely went through our minds,” Wilmore said.
The astronauts dared not discuss the prospect, though. Instead, their training kicked in.
“You sort of read each other’s mind and know where we’re going with all the failures,” Williams told the outlet. “These were not expected. At the same time, you know, we’re like, ‘What do we have? What can we do?'”