Elon Musk has shared a viral post on X (formerly Twitter) by DogeDesigner, referencing US President Donald Trump‘s social media post, asking the tech billionaire to rescue two NASA astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS). In his post on Truth Social, Trump wrote “I asked Elon Musk to go up and get the abandoned astronauts because the Biden administration was incapable of doing so.” He further stated “Elon and I have taken on the project, sending up the SpaceX Dragon, which has successfully docked, and hopefully, they will soon be on their way home.”
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stranded in space for over eight months due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. NASA deemed the Starliner unsafe for their return, leading to the spacecraft being sent back to Earth unmanned. The situation remained unresolved under the Biden administration, prompting Trump to reach out to Musk for assistance.
Donald Trump’s message on Sunita Williams’ return
In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote:
I just spoke with the Acting Administrator of NASA, Janet Petro. She is coordinating our Team of highly respected Scientists, Space Engineers, and various other “geniuses,” who has agreed to I just spoke with the Acting Administrator of NASA, Janet Petro. She is coordinating our Team of highly respected Scientists, Space Engineers, and various other “geniuses,” who has agreed to let our Astronauts come home long prior to the two week period originally approved by NASA. Janet was great. She said, “Let’s bring them home NOW, Sir!” — And I thanked her. This began when I asked Elon Musk to go up and get the abandoned Astronauts, because the Biden Administration was incapable of doing so. They shamefully forgot about the Astronauts, because they considered it to be a very embarrassing event for them – Another thing I inherited from that failed group of incompetents. Elon and I have taken on the project, sending up the SpaceX Dragon, which has successfully docked and, hopefully, while there is always danger involved in such a mission, they will soon be on their way home —Taking off tomorrow, and landing on Wednesday. Exact times will be provided to you. Safety always comes first, and maximum standards are being adhered to. But after eight long months for a mission that was supposed to be eight days, IT IS TIME. I look forward to seeing Butch and Suni, and thank you again to NASA and Janet Petro!
Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore leave for Earth
Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched the Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on March 15 to bring back two astronauts. Williams and Wilmore, both former Navy pilots, arrived at the ISS on June 5 last year for what was meant to be an eight-day mission—the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner. However, propulsion issues left them stranded, and with the Starliner deemed unfit for a return trip, it was sent back to Earth uncrewed in September.
The two departed the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft this morning. NASA confirmed that Crew-9 undocked at 10:35 am IST, sharing a video of the spacecraft detaching from the ISS. The journey back to Earth is expected to take approximately 17 hours.
