WASHINGTON, US – Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has pledged that SpaceX will bring home two NASA astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS), following a request from former President Donald Trump.
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were supposed to return months ago after their June 2024 launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner, but technical issues with the spacecraft have repeatedly delayed their return.
NASA initially planned to bring them back in February 2025, then pushed it to March or April, citing safety concerns with Starliner.
Musk made his announcement Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
“President Trump has asked SpaceX to bring home the two astronauts stranded on the space station as soon as possible. We will do so.”
Trump echoed the sentiment on Truth Social, claiming the astronauts had been “virtually abandoned in space” and praising Musk for stepping in.
Williams and Wilmore’s eight-day mission turned into an indefinite stay after helium leaks and thruster failures crippled Starliner.
The spacecraft was Boeing’s first attempt at a crewed NASA flight under a $4.2 billion contract.
In contrast, SpaceX, which received a $2.6 billion NASA contract, has already completed nine successful crewed missions.
Despite the delays, NASA has maintained that the astronauts are not at risk, citing ample supplies aboard the ISS from recent resupply missions.
NASA and Boeing engineers have spent months troubleshooting Starliner, but as uncertainty grows, Musk’s SpaceX has now been called in to retrieve the astronauts using its reliable Dragon spacecraft.
Musk’s intervention has added a political layer to the situation.
By framing the astronauts’ prolonged stay as a failure of the Biden administration, both he and Trump have turned the mission into a symbol of political dysfunction.
NASA, which has historically remained apolitical, has yet to comment on Musk’s involvement.
The decision to use SpaceX raises questions about Boeing’s future in human spaceflight and could signal a shift in NASA’s reliance on private space companies.
