President Donald Trump requested billionaire Elon Musk to “go get” two astronauts which have been aboard the Worldwide House Station since June 2024, claiming the Biden administration had “virtually abandoned” them though NASA has stated for months it plans to carry them house quickly.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Reality Social platform. Musk is the CEO of SpaceX. “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!!!”
The 2 astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, traveled to the ISS in June for what was meant to be a brief journey aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However the Starliner had points with its propulsion system on its approach into house, and NASA later determined to increase the astronauts’ keep aboard the ISS and ship the craft house empty.
It landed safely in New Mexico final September.
NASA as a substitute launched a brand new SpaceX craft later that month with two free seats, saying it might carry Wilmore and Williams house aboard that vessel as quickly because the company’s subsequent crew, Crew-10, traveled to the ISS to permit for a crossover interval between astronauts.
MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO through Getty Photographs
Crew-10 is now scheduled to go to house no sooner than the tip of March. NASA has been emphatic in saying the 2 astronauts are in wonderful well being and aren’t stranded. The company added in December it had not too long ago resupplied the house station, saying it was well-stocked “with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing and oxygen.”
Musk stated Tuesday night time he had spoken with Trump and that SpaceX deliberate to carry house Wilmore and Williams “as soon as possible,” echoing the president’s criticisms of the Biden administration.
It’s unclear how Trump’s directive will impression NASA’s present plans. The New York Instances notes the obvious choices to expedite the timeline are lower than excellent, together with leaving the ISS understaffed by sending a crew house early or sending Williams and Wilmore house alone and leaving some crew behind.
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That would go away these astronauts and not using a trip again to Earth, the identical predicament Williams and Wilmore discovered themselves in final yr.
