Ex-NASA Leader Never Heard Musk Offer of Early Astronaut Return

NASA’s top officials never received an offer from Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring home two US astronauts marooned in space earlier than planned, the agency’s former deputy administrator told Bloomberg.

The comments cast doubt on Musk’s claims that his attempts to stage an early rescue mission were blocked by former US President Joe Biden’s White House because of the billionaire’s support of Donald Trump.

“An offer to bring the crew home early, it never came to headquarters,” Pam Melroy, a former astronaut who was second in command under NASA administrator Bill Nelson, said in ...