U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he has tasked Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring back stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore home from the International Space Station (ISS).
The two NASA astronauts went to space aboard the Starliner capsule on June 5 last year for a presumed eight-to-10-day mission.
This mission was originally designed as a week-long test flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
However, shortly after liftoff, the mission encountered unforeseen challenges.
A series of technical failures, including vexing thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, marred the mission, prompting NASA to delay the astronauts’ return.
NASA extended their stay on the ISS to avoid disrupting the overall crew rotation schedule. This decision was made following a risk assessment and with the aim of maintaining operational stability on the ISS.
While Wilmore and Williams continued their mission with no immediate risk, their Starliner capsule was returned to Earth remotely without them.
NASA said on Wednesday that it is “Expeditiously working” with billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX to safely bring astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth after being stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) for several months.
NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions.
— NASA (@NASA) January 29, 2025
“NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions,” said NASA in a post on X.
Earlier, Elon Musk posted on X, “The President has asked SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the ISS as soon as possible. We will do so. Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2025
Trump blamed the Biden administration for what he described as “abandoning” the astronauts, and he called on SpaceX founder Elon Musk to bring them home.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “I have asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to go get the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration. 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!!!”
On September 28, 2024, SpaceX launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS with two crew members aboard, leaving two seats vacant for Wilmore and Williams.
The astronauts are now expected to return with the Crew 9 mission at the end of March 2025, after completing nearly 300 days in space.
