Elon Musk announced on X that President Trump asked SpaceX to bring home two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) by the Biden Administration. The astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, have been in space since June 2024 due to issues with their Starliner spacecraft. NASA originally planned for Crew-9, including the two astronauts, to return in February 2025, but delays with SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft pushed their return date to late March at the earliest. Both SpaceX and Boeing were contracted by NASA to develop spacecraft for the Commercial Crew Program, with SpaceX completing nine crewed flights compared to Boeing’s zero. Musk’s statement on Truth Social suggested that the astronauts may return on Crew-9 Dragon, but it is unclear if this will happen as no further details were provided. The situation has raised questions about the timeline for bringing the astronauts home and the implications for Crew-10. President Trump’s statement has added to the confusion, with no clarification on what his directive to SpaceX means. NASA has stated that the astronauts are not stranded and are in good health on the ISS. The situation underscores the complexities and challenges of space travel and the need for attention to detail in spacecraft development.
Trump requests SpaceX to bring back astronauts aboard Starliner from the ISS
