In a post on TRUTH Social Tuesday night, President Donald Trump revealed he has asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to rescue two Starliner astronauts — Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams — who have been stuck on the International Space Station for seven months.
“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. 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 responded on X, with a salute emoji.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2025
In another reply, Musk took a shot at the Biden Administration, saying “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.”
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
From The Hill:
The trip of the two astronauts was originally meant to be around eight to ten days; however, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they took off in caused NASA to be concerned and leave them at the ISS.
A return mission for Williams and Wilmore that would use a SpaceX craft was originally planned for February, but it was moved to at least late March.
“NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 now is targeting no earlier than late March 2025 to launch four crew members to the International Space Station,” NASA said in a mid-December release.
More over at The Hill:
Trump asks Elon Musk to "go get" NASA astronauts stuck in space https://t.co/NArd05NDbL
— The Hill (@thehill) January 29, 2025