A conservative advocacy group is suing NASA for documents to determine what role, if any, Vice President Kamala Harris played in addressing two astronauts stuck in space — claiming she may have put “politics over our astronauts.”
Harris leads the National Space Council but has said little publicly about the crisis caused by technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which extended what was supposed to be a weeklong mission starting June 5 to an orbit lasting at least until February.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, currently living aboard the International Space Station, are expected to be rescued by SpaceX early next year after Boeing was unable to provide for their safe return as planned.
A conservative watchdog group sued NASA, seeking documents relating to the situation that has left two US astronauts at the International Space Station for several more months. AFP via Getty Images
The Oversight Project’s executive director said his group has legally sought emails between NASA political appointees and the White House, including the office of Vice President Kamala Harris. Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesMike Howell, head of the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, told Fox News that the lawsuit will try to establish what exactly Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had to do with the issue.
“This looks like to me and other experts that Kamala Harris, the space czar, chose politics over our astronauts,” Howell said.
Harris holds the title of chair of the National Space Council. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore held a news conference from the International Space Station on Sept. 13, 2024. NASA TV/AFP via Getty Images
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare orbital hardware for installation inside the International Space Station. NASA“It’s very bizarre that the mainstream media seems not to care about this massive scandal. We’re going to continue to investigate this and get Americans the answers they deserve.”
The Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit seeks communications involving NASA chief of staff Bale Dalton III, associate administrator James Free and five other space-agency officials.
“Space is serious business. Kamala Harris obviously has no business running the National Space Council,” Howell told Fox.
The group is also seeking communications between NASA and officials in the commercial crew program at Boeing, the company that manufactured the Starliner capsule. AP
“The fact is that Vice President Kamala Harris’ record as Border Czar is as awful as her record as Space Czar,” Howell said Monday. AFP via Getty Images
In a response, a NASA spokesperson stated that Harris and NSpC staff “received frequent updates on the Starliner crewed flight test.” NASA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock“The fact is that Vice President Kamala Harris’ record as Border Czar is as awful as her record as Space Czar … Part of the reason they’re lost in space is that our NASA has been turned into another woke-DEI, dismal excuse for a government agency.”
The extended stay in space was caused by concerns that Boeing’s Starliner might explode and kill the astronauts upon return due to mechanical issues.
The craft, however, returned to Earth unmanned without combusting on Sept. 7.
Harris spokespeople did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
