Billionaire businessman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has pledged to bring home two astronauts stranded in the International Space Station (ISS) following a request by President Donald Trump.
Musk announced Tuesday that SpaceX will now take charge of the mission to ensure Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are brought back to earth after delays and technical issues surrounding their spacecraft.
“President Trump has asked SpaceX to bring home the two astronauts stranded on space station as soon as possible. We will do so,” he said in a post.
He alleged the Biden administration had left the two “stranded” for too long and that Trump had asked SpaceX to step in to rescue them.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump reiterated the remark, saying “the two brave astronauts have been virtually abandoned in space.”
“They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!”
Musk is the founder and CEO of SpaceX.
Suni and Wilmore took off on what was planned to be an eight-day mission on June 5, 2024.
The Boeing Starliner which they used is said to have experienced problems on its way to the space station, including leaks of helium, which pushes fuel into the propulsion system.
Several thrusters also did not work properly.
Engineers at Boeing and Nasa have spent months trying to understand the technical issues with the Starliner craft.
Boeing and SpaceX were both awarded billion-dollar contracts by Nasa to provide commercial space flights for its astronauts.
Boeing’s was worth $4.2bn (£3.18bn) while SpaceX got $2.6bn.
SpaceX has so far sent nine crewed flights to space for Nasa, as well as some commercial missions.
This was Boeing’s first attempt at the mission. Initial plans were to have the astronauts return in February 2025 but this has been delayed again until late March or April.
This is because of technical issues with the experimental spacecraft, Starliner, built by Boeing. In September 2024, Nasa said the Starliner was not safe enough to bring the astronauts home.
Nasa also stated that the delay in returning the duos poses no risk to them.
"The International Space Station recently received two resupply flights in November and is well-stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing, and oxygen. The resupply spacecraft also carried special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays aboard the orbital platform," Nasa stated in a statement.
To retrieve them for the space station, SpaceX will use a Dragon spacecraft.
