Trump-Calls

NASA's Crew-9 Mission Delayed: NASA Reassures Public About Stranded Astronauts, But Trump Demands SpaceX Act Quickly

 

In a surprise move, Donald Trump called on Elon Musk and SpaceX to hurry the return of astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station. The two astronauts were launched into space aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 but were only supposed to stay on the ISS for just 10 days. However, after several technical issues with the Starliner, they were left stranded in space for months.

SpaceX was initially tasked with bringing them home as part of the Crew-9 mission. However, delays have pushed their return date from February 2025 to possibly March or even April. Trump’s call for a faster return has added new urgency.

 

Elon Musk Responds to Trump’s Request

 

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described it as "terrible" that the astronauts were held up for this long in space under the Biden administration. In a post on X, the billionaire CEO announced that SpaceX would work to get Williams and Wilmore home soon. He also continued the tone in his remarks, similar to Trump's, saying SpaceX will "go get" the astronauts off the ISS.

Trump also weighed in on his Truth Social platform, confirming that SpaceX would "soon" start a mission to bring the two astronauts home. His statement has created confusion because NASA had already planned their return through SpaceX's Crew-9 mission.

 

Why the Delay

 

The mission to bring Williams and Wilmore back home has been put on hold due to problems with the Crew-10 spacecraft, which is to replace the Crew-9 astronauts. It was initially meant that Crew-9 would do the return, but the launch for the Crew-10 mission has been shifted to March 2025. Also, other problems with the Starliner, like thruster failure, have made their stay longer than initially planned.

Despite all this, NASA has continued to reassure the public that the astronauts are healthy and are under close monitoring.

The public is holding their breaths as they continue to watch with anticipation of the return of these astronauts, who show a lot of bravery. Whether SpaceX will speed up its mission and return Williams and Wilmore to Earth sooner than initially anticipated is left to be seen.