Musk turned to his X on Wednesday, revealing plans to bring back the two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), saying he will bring them back “as soon as possible.”
NASA’s space crew, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, went to the ISS on Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June 2024.
President Trump posted on Truth Social, stating, “I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to ‘go get’ the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.”
He concluded his post by wishing the Tesla founder the best of luck for his mission.
According to NASA, the crew is not “stranded” and they have a plan for their safe journey back home.
Additionally, the astronauts are trained for lengthy missions, and medical experts are monitoring their health during their stay.
The test flight was initially supposed to last only eight days, but NASA and Boeing engineers discovered issues with the spacecraft’s propulsion system.
This problem led to the decision to return the spacecraft to Earth without the crew. The two astronauts have remained at the station ever since.
Under NASA policies, the crew needs to be replaced to avoid understaffing the station, which could result in maintenance issues.
According to the latest development, the Crew-10 mission to the ISS has been delayed until March, which will replace Wilmore and Williams.
SpaceX has an exclusive contract for all upcoming scheduled missions, but it remains unclear if NASA will have to pay Musk’s company additional fees for the crew return flight.
