Trump asks Musk to speed up the return of two NASA astronauts stuck at ISS

President Trump has directed SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to speed up the return of two U.S. astronauts awaiting retrieval on the International Space Station.

In a post on Truth Social Tuesday evening, Mr. Trump said that he had asked Mr. Musk to use SpaceX’s resources to retrieve quickly NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

“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,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe.”

Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams traveled to the ISS in the Summer of 2024 for a short test mission on Boeing’s Starliner. However, complications with the craft’s propulsion system turned what was supposed to be an 8-day mission into a months-long stay.

In August, NASA ruled that the Starliner that brought the astronauts to the ISS was not safe enough to ferry the two back to Earth and asked SpaceX to use its Crew Dragon spacecraft to retrieve them.

The SpaceX craft has been docked at the ISS since September, with the astronauts scheduled to return to Earth in March. 

Mr. Trump’s order to return the astronauts before their scheduled departure date is unusual and could disrupt operations aboard the ISS. Mr. Wimore and Ms. Williams have been busy conducting routine scientific research since they arrived last year. An early departure could upend their research schedules. 

There are currently seven astronauts aboard the ISS. 

Additionally, returning the astronauts before their scheduled date could mean leaving the ISS understaffed. Under Mr. Trump’s order, the astronauts would leave the ISS before the latest batch of crewmembers arrived, leaving only one NASA astronaut aboard the station.