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Comment by lordfrito | Hacker News Reader

By any reasonable definition, these astronauts were stranded. If people can be stranded in an airport due to a plane being grounded, then they can be stranded on a space station for the same reason. I mean, they're in orbit, it's not like they could simply walk home.

The mental gymnastics on display in this thread reminds me of the Narcissists Prayer.

   The astronauts weren't stranded in space for 9 months.
   And if they were, they were lucky and enjoyed their extended vacation.
   And if they didn't, it's not a big deal it comes with the job.
   And if it is a big deal, it's not Nasa's/Boeings fault.
   And if it was, it's not political.
   And if it is, Elon shouldn't be credited for SpaceX bringing them back.
   And if he should, he doesn't deserve it.

Personally I'm just glad seeing them come home. The stakes are real, lives are at risk, families impacted. Didn't one of the astronauts miss his 30-year wedding anniversary?

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They have had a completely normal emergency evacuation plan since 9/24/24, if they were ever "stranded" it was before that when they would have had to use the Crew-8 Dragon in an abnormal configuration.

Is any astronaut who stays longer than planned "stranded"? Did Elon strand Crew-9 when SpaceX missed their deadline on building the Crew-10 Dragon?

Or is it just if you can't go home whenever you want? Are Crew-10 stranded right now?!?! Elon please help!!!!!

Again, if your aircraft is grounded you would consider yourself stranded at an airport until you could schedule and board alternate means of travel. Even though you could rent a car and drive 2000 miles, you're much more likely to wait 1 day for a new flight instead of adding 4 days of travel time. And during that day of wait you'd considered yourself stranded, even though you could walk right out of the airport at any time. Emergency options exist, like calling an ambulance, but it doesn't change the fact you're still stranded. You kids would be complaining endlessly about being stranded in an airport for one day, let alone 9 months.

If you're on a cruise ship that loses power on high seas, just because you can get into the the emergency life boats doesn't mean you aren't stranded until something more reasonable and accommodating arrives.

That's the way the word is used in casual conversation.

What's so wrong about calling the crew stranded? Their planned means of travel was "grounded" due to safety issues. Sure, lifeboats existed, but those are for emergencies. This wasn't an emergency. So, they're just regular "stranded" until another vehicle can come and do an unscheduled pickup. Which is what happened here.

This isn't rocket science people. Wait, actually it is :)

Sure, fine. I think "stuck" is more accurate as stranded imo has an implication of there not being a concrete plan in action but thinking about it more my primary issue isn't the word choice but the blatant lies about plan and timelines from trump and musk.

> "The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long." -Musk

> "I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration" -Trump

To say these things and then continue with the exact plan that has already been in place since September is absurd regardless of the accuracy of the wording.

> Is any astronaut who stays longer than planned "stranded"?

If the reason they're staying longer than planned is they can't use their planned return spacecraft, then yes they are stranded.

What am I missing here?

I don't see why the planned return craft has anything to do with being trapped somewhere. If my yacht runs aground on a deserted island and I choose not to leave on the perfectly functional dinghy to an island town 5 miles away, am I stranded?

> The stakes are real, lives are at risk, families impacted.

So let's keep in mind the risk and sacrifices these people make throughout their lives, only to have Elon at any moment accusing them of being traitors.[0]

[0]https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/elon-musk-calls-ma...

The issue is the definition. "Stranded" can be made to mean a wide range of things. In this case it's clear from Trump and Musk's statements that they mean it as "abandoned" and in need of rescue. While you could argue that their situation could be described as stranded, they clearly were not abandoned or in need of rescue.

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