NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to spend just eight days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), but after Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft failed, they’ve been stuck there since June 2024.
Their return has now been delayed until March 2025, extending their mission to nearly ten months due to helium leaks and propulsion issues on the Starliner, which forced NASA to abandon its return flight.
But now, President Donald Trump has asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to step in and bring the astronauts home as soon as possible using a Dragon capsule.
Musk confirmed the request on X, criticizing the Biden administration for leaving Wilmore and Williams on the ISS for so long. “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long,” Musk wrote.
SpaceX, which has successfully ferried astronauts to and from the ISS since 2020 along with resupply missions, is now expected to take on the mission of returning Wilmore and Williams safely to Earth.
Both astronauts launched to space on June 5, 2024, and arrived at the ISS on June 6. The total time spent in space so far has been 237 days and counting. Let’s bring them home, SpaceX.
Back in September, it was determined that the Crew-9 Mission that arrived at the ISS would send home both Wilmore and Williams in February. Now, we have official word from the President.
