President Donald Trump urged Elon Musk to rescue the two astronauts from the International Space Station. The astronauts were scheduled to return in March.
“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 wrote on Truth Social. “They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”
Musk said of Trump’s request, “The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so.”
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been on the ISS since June. Their eight-day mission on the Boeing Starliner has lasted months. Boeing brought the Starliner back to Earth empty in September after it experienced thruster malfunctions and helium leaks.
SpaceX was initially planning to return the astronauts by February, but the effort was delayed.
In December, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said, “Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail. We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight.”
NASA previously determined that launching Crew-10 in March would be the “best option” for achieving ISS objectives and follow the completion of a Dragon spacecraft.
