A hallmark of populist politicians is to blame virtually everything on their political rivals. Such is the case here with Donald Trump, as he inserts himself into the ongoing Boeing Starliner saga. The newly inaugurated U.S. president has asked SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to bring two NASA astronauts back from the International Space Station, while falsely accusing the Biden administration of leaving them stranded.
Said Trump on Truth Social on January 28: “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.” NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, he wrote, “have been waiting for many months” on the ISS. “Elon will soon be on his way,” Trump added. “Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”
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
Musk yes-anded his commander-in-chief the same day, claiming the president asked SpaceX to bring the two astronauts back home as soon as possible. “We will do so,” Musk wrote in an X post, adding: “Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
Trump’s comments were characteristically misleading, as a solid plan for their return has been in place since August of last year. What’s more, the astronauts are not “waiting” to be rescued, as they’ve been fully integrated as active members of the ISS crew. And as former NASA administrator Bill Nelson explained at the time, politics did not play a role in the decision, citing safety as the paramount concern. Is it unfortunate that Williams and Wilmore got stuck on the ISS? Yes. Are they miserable, unsafe, and in desperate need of being rescued as soon as possible? Absolutely not.
Williams and Wilmore launched to the ISS aboard CST-100 Starliner on June 5, 2024, in what was the first crewed flight test of Boeing’s spacecraft. The mission was meant to last eight days, but issues with Starliner’s thrusters forced a change of plans; specialists on Earth deemed it too risky to bring the two astronauts home aboard that spacecraft. The empty Starliner returned to Earth on September 7, with Williams and Wilmore staying on the ISS and joining the Expedition 71/72 crew.
With Starliner out of the equation, NASA and its partners had to devise a new plan to bring Williams and Wilmore back home. They decided to adjust the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Instead of launching four astronauts to the ISS, only two astronauts would launch, leaving two extra seats available for Williams and Wilmore on the return trip. The two Crew-9 astronauts, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, launched to the ISS on September 28, 2024, and are scheduled to return in late March or early April, along with the the two Starliner astronauts.
Musk’s comments, therefore, are somewhat puzzling, given that a solid plan is already in place to return the two astronauts in just a few weeks—a plan that involves SpaceX itself. Neither Trump nor Musk made mention of the existing plan in their recent statements. Moreover, Musk didn’t offer any details about a potential new mission, which would need to occur before March or April to precede the already scheduled return. It’s also unclear what benefit there would be in bringing the astronauts home a few weeks earlier than already planned. However, considering that an entirely new Falcon 9 launch would need to be prepared, along with another Crew Dragon, this harebrained scheme carries significant risks and costs.
Trump and Musk’s statements appear to have caught NASA off guard. When asked about a potential plan, a spokesperson said the space agency “will follow up as soon as we can,” as reported in SpaceNews.
It’s blatantly obvious what’s going on here, of course. It’s an opportunity for both Trump and Musk to cast shade on the previous administration—who arguably had nothing to do with the situation—while simultaneously casting themselves as heroes. It’s actually quite pathetic. Sadly, however, a significant portion of the American public will eat it all up and accept what these two men are saying at face value.
For this to work, and as already noted, SpaceX would have to suddenly make a Crew Dragon available, which is easier said than done. As SpaceNews reports, the company is working to complete a new Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-10 mission, which will relieve Crew-9. A total of four Crew Dragons currently exist (not including the one in development), so it’s conceivable that SpaceX could pull from this batch to expedite the launch of Crew-10. That said, one of these Crew Dragons is currently slated to deliver the private Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to the ISS this coming April. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out, given Musk’s promise to the president. Should an extra launch take place, NASA would have to make sure a docking port is available on the ISS, adding yet another complication.
As for Williams and Wilmore, they’re currently looking at a minimum 10-month stay, in what was supposed to be an eight-day venture. The pair has taken the situation in stride, stating that, as professionals, they’ve adapted to the prolonged stay without any issues. Williams even participated in a spacewalk on January 16 alongside Nick Hague, so it’s not like they’re twiddling their thumbs up there. Let’s face: not everyone gets to go to space, so in a sense this bonus time is a real treat. It’s also worth noting that, while 10 months is undeniably a long time, many NASA astronauts have previously spent more than a year aboard the ISS.
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