Billionaire Elon Musk vowed Tuesday to bring home the two astronauts who have been stuck in space for about eight months “as soon as possible” – and blasted the Biden White House for not retrieving them sooner.
The SpaceX CEO and “Department of Government Efficiency” head said in a social media post he was asked by President Donald Trump to rescue Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have both been in space since last June as part of what was initially meant to be a weeklong mission.
Plans involving a SpaceX capsule have been in place to help the pair step on solid ground again since Joe Biden was president.
The two NASA pilots reached the International Space Station via a Starliner – Boeing’s first flight into space – but problems with the capsule quickly developed, including helium leaks and thruster problems.
The Starliner returned to Earth last year after NASA determined it was too risky to have people inside.
“The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @SpaceStation as soon as possible. We will do so,” Musk said on his social media app, X, Tuesday evening.
“Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.”
There were plans developed months earlier by NASA for Wilmore and Williams to hitch a ride on a SpaceX capsule that would transport them to Earth by this February, but the ride was delayed to March or early April.
While the SpaceX capsule that Wilmore and Williams will use is already in space, Musk’s company delayed the launch of the replacement astronauts who must reach the space station before the pair can go home.
NASA typically wants overlapping crews at the space station for an easier transition.
SpaceX postponed the launch to work on the aircraft.
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