SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his company will carry out a mission at the request of President Donald Trump to bring two NASA astronauts who have been stranded at the International Space Station since June back home.
Tuesday evening, Trump announced his request to Musk, writing in a Truth Social post, “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.”
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
“They have been waiting for many months on [the International Space Station]. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon,” Trump added in the post.
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station for what was initially planned for a week-long trip on a Boeing Starliner flight.
The Boeing craft returned to Earth in September without Williams and Wilmore after NASA decided the flight home was too risky given a number of mechanical issues – including helium leaks and propulsion issues – the craft experienced during the arrival mission.
The two astronauts were planned to fly back on a spacecraft NASA is working on with SpaceX in December, however, NASA announced that the mission would be delayed until a date “no earlier than late March 2025.”
Trump’s request to Musk seemingly seeks to expedite existing plans to bring Williams and Wilmore home prior to NASA’s new deadline of late March.
Musk accepted Trump’s request on Tuesday, writing in an X post, “The [president] has asked [SpaceX] to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the [International Space Station] as soon as possible. We will do so.”
“Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long,” Musk added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Elon Musk” by Elon Musk and “International Space Station” is by NASA.
