Trump asks Musk to bring back stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore home
The Hindu
Trump tasks Elon Musk and SpaceX to rescue stranded NASA astronauts from ISS, criticizing Biden administration's inaction.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (January 28, 2025) said that he has tasked Elon Musk and SpaceX to bring back stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore home from the International Space Station (ISS).
The two seasoned astronauts embarked on a journey from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule on June 5, 2024. This mission was originally designed as a week-long test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). However, shortly after liftoff, the mission encountered unforeseen challenges. A series of technical failures, including vexing thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, marred the mission, prompting NASA to delay the astronauts’ return.
In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Mr. Trump accused the Biden administration of ‘abandoning’ the astronauts in space.
“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. 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!!!,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr Musk too shared Mr. Trump’s post asking him to take up the task of bringing the astronauts back home. “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,” Mr. Musk posted on X.
The astronauts were already scheduled to fly back on a SpaceX capsule in March. NASA had recently tapped SpaceX to return the astronauts on a Crew Dragon spacecraft. That craft is already docked with the space station, having flown there for NASA’s Crew-9 astronaut rotation mission in September with empty seats for Wilmore and Williams.
On January 16, 2025, Sunita Williams got a much-welcomed change of scenery by stepping out on her first spacewalk since arriving at the International Space Station more than seven months ago. This was the eighth spacewalk for Ms. Williams, who has lived on the space station before.
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