Donald Trump asked Elon Musk to return astronauts stranded on the ISS in the summer of 2024

The US President criticized Joe Biden for not sending the spacecraft earlier, but the flight was already planned.

US President Donald Trump has asked SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to “go to the rescue” of two astronauts who have been stranded in space since 2024. Trump accused former President Joe Biden of “leaving them there for so long.” Although back in August last year, Musk's space company was tasked with returning two astronauts to Earth in February after NASA officials deemed Boeing's Starliner unsuitable for the mission. This is&written Daily Mail.

Astronauts Wilmore and Williams have been on the ISS since last year

“I just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to 'go get' two brave astronauts who were effectively abandoned by the Biden administration. They've been waiting on the space station for months. Elon will be leaving soon. I hope everything goes well. Good luck, Elon!” — Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on January 28.

The 53-year-old billionaire vowed in his post to bring back Butch Wilmore, 62, and Sunita Williams, 59, “as soon as possible.”

And repeated the accusations against former US President Joe Biden for allegedly not taking action sooner.

“It's terrible that the Biden administration left them there for so long,” Musk complained. He did not mention that his company SpaceX was tasked in August 2024 with returning Wilmore and Williams to Earth in February 2025 after NASA officials decided that Boeing's Starliner was not suitable for the mission. However, NASA is not giving up on Boeing: Administrator Bill Nelson said he is “100% confident that Starliner will fly again.”

Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck on the International Space Station since June 5. The couple's visit was originally supposed to last just eight days, but for safety reasons, NASA decided to send the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they arrived on back to Earth without people inside.

Earlier this month, Wilmore and Williams told NASA officials, “Ultimately, we want to go home.”

Williams also told students at her alma mater, a high school in Massachusetts, that she was now “trying to remember what it was like to walk. I didn't walk. I didn't sit. I didn't lie down.”

The astronaut also said that the months-long delay in returning to Earth had been a big challenge for her and her colleague. by shock.

The pair were doomed to a long stay at the International Space Station after a series of engine failures and helium leaks in the Boeing capsule marred their trip to the space station.

They ended up in a holding area while engineers conducted tests and discussed what to do with the return flight.

However, NASA denies that the astronauts are stranded, saying Trump's directive could simply be a way to embarrass his predecessor.

The administration had already decided that returning Williams and Wilmore to Earth on a Boeing ship was too risky, and announced over the summer that they would return on a SpaceX spacecraft instead.

“It wasn't easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one,” said Jim Free, NASA's deputy administrator at the time.

It is noted that if Williams and Wilmore had flown before the arrival of the new crew, only one astronaut would have remained on board — Don Pettit, who would have had to command the entire American segment of the International Space Station.

However, the Crew-10 mission, which was supposed to go to the International Space Station to rescue Williams and Wilmore, has been delayed by at least a month because SpaceX's new fifth Crew Dragon spacecraft has not yet been put into service.

The mission is now not scheduled to launch until late March or early April, meaning Williams and Wilmore will have to stay there for several more months before they can return to Earth.