Elon Musk has called for the immediate decommissioning of the International Space Station (ISS), arguing that the focus should now be on reaching Mars. In doing so, he also launched a personal attack on Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, the current ISS commander, in a heated exchange on X.
The controversy erupted after Musk reiterated his claim, during a Fox News interview alongside former President Donald Trump, that two NASA astronauts had been “abandoned” on the ISS due to political decisions by the Biden administration. Both astronauts have repeatedly refuted this assertion.
“What a lie,” Mogensen responded on X. “And from someone who complains about a lack of honesty in mainstream media.”
Musk reacted angrily. “You are fully retarded. SpaceX could have brought them back several months ago. I OFFERED THIS DIRECTLY to the Biden administration and they refused,” he replied. “The return WAS pushed back for political reasons. Idiot.”
“Elon, I’ve long admired what you’ve accomplished, especially with SpaceX and Tesla,” Mogensen responded politely. “You know as well as I do that Butch and Suni will return with Crew-9, as planned since last September.”
NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore have been on the ISS since June, far exceeding their planned eight-day stay due to technical issues encountered with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Their return has been repeatedly postponed.
The two were initially set to come back on Starliner as part of Crew-9, but NASA and SpaceX delayed the Crew-10 mission, which will take over ISS duties. The new timeline—not before the end of March 2025—allows NASA and SpaceX to finalize the development of a new Dragon capsule for the mission.
“We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded.” Sunita Williams told CNN on February 13. “If you’ll help us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative. Let’s change it to ‘prepared and committed.’”
NASA has relied on both Boeing and Musk’s SpaceX for astronaut transport since 2014. The agency had depended on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for human spaceflight following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, which killed seven astronauts. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has since carried over 50 astronauts into orbit, while Boeing’s Starliner program has suffered repeated delays and setbacks. The aerospace giant has faced additional scrutiny in recent months due to malfunctions in its 747 and 737 MAX aircraft.
Musk also explained – once again on his social media platform – that the ISS should be dismantled as soon as possible and that it’s time to ‘de-orbit it’ because “it has already served its purpose. Let’s go to Mars.”
NASA already has plans to retire the International Space Station by 2030.
