Elon Musk’s SpaceX will bring astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore back home as soon as possible
Washington, DC: Elon Musk wrote on X (previously Twitter) that “The president has requested that SpaceX return the two astronauts who are trapped on the ISS as soon as possible. We’ll do it. That the Biden administration abandoned them there for so long is terrible.
President Trump responded to this tweet by expressing his displeasure with the way the Biden administration has handled the case of two astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, who have remained on board the ISS since June 5, 2024. According to CBS News, a problem with the astronauts’ Boeing Starliner spacecraft delayed their return to Earth, leaving them on the ISS.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1884365928038563880
Trump called on SpaceX creator Elon Musk to bring the astronauts home, accusing the Biden administration of “abandoning” them. “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,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social website. On the @Space Station, they had been waiting for many months. Elon will arrive shortly. I hope everything stays secure. “Good luck, Elon!”
After acknowledging the request earlier, Musk replied on X that SpaceX will return the astronauts home. “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long,” he said, criticizing the Biden administration’s involvement in the delay. The designations of “stranded” and “abandoned” for the astronauts, however, have been contested.
Despite their prolonged stay on the ISS, Wilmore and Williams were never in imminent danger and were free to return to Earth if NASA so desired. A SpaceX Crew Dragon ship, which has seats available for them from September 2024, may be the means of their homecoming.
The predicament started in June 2024 when the two astronauts boarded Boeing’s Starliner capsule for a mission that was originally only supposed to last eight to ten days. However, the mission ran into technical difficulties, including concerns with the Starliner’s propulsion system and propellant leakage.
Then, in order to prevent interfering with the crew rotation plan, NASA prolonged the astronauts’ stay on the ISS. A risk assessment and the need to preserve the ISS’s operational stability served as the foundation for this expansion. While their Starliner spacecraft was returned to Earth under remote control without them, Wilmore and Williams stayed on the ISS without any imminent danger, according to CBS News.
Two seats were left open for Wilmore and Williams when SpaceX launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS on September 28, 2024, with two crew members on board. After spending over 300 days in space, the astronauts are now anticipated to return with the Crew 9 mission at the end of March 2025. According to both astronauts, they were aware that the decision to prolong their mission was decided in consultation with SpaceX and NASA.
Musk’s statement that the astronauts should be returned “as soon as possible” would only make sense if Wilmore and Williams, who are part of Crew 9, returned sooner. This might, however, interfere with the ISS’s ability to function, leaving only one US astronaut to perform the vital duties related to the US portion of the ISS.
This may put a stop to important research until Crew 10 arrives, which might be delayed because of logistical problems. The availability of Crew Dragon capsules, including the one designated for a commercial trip by Axiom Space, may also affect the Crew 10 mission, according to CBS News.
Although Musk’s remarks have caused uncertainty over the astronauts’ impending return plans, the fact is that they are not in danger and will probably stay on board the ISS until the end of March 2025, as originally scheduled.
