Featured Image Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images / Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, NASA, Politics, Space, US News, Elon Musk, Space X, International Space Station
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Donald Trump, NASA, Politics, Space, US News, Elon Musk, Space X, International Space Station
US President Donald Trump has asked Elon Musk and Space X to 'go get' two astronauts who've been 'abandoned in space by the Biden Administration'.
On June 5, 2024, NASA's Boeing Starliner Calypso was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for an eight-day round trip to the International Space Station (ISS).
Alas, over six months later and astronauts Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore are still yet to have returned.
As the Boeing Starliner Calypso approached the ISS, the capsule's thrusters malfunctioned and NASA ruled it too dangerous for Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth onboard the space vehicle as planned on June 14.
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Their return was subsequently postponed and a plan put in place for the pair to travel back with SpaceX Crew-9, however, NASA later announced a further adjustment of the date for Williams and Wilmore to be picked up in a blog post.
On its site, it explained NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 was now 'targeting no earlier than late March 2025 to launch four crew members to the ISS'.
"The change gives NASA and SpaceX teams time to complete processing on a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission. The new spacecraft is set to arrive to the company’s processing facility in Florida in early January," it added.
As a result, this meant Williams and Wilmore's return to Earth would be delayed until March 2025.
Although, Donald Trump has since seemingly called on Elon Musk to get the astronauts back even sooner, taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, last night (January 28) to reveal: "I have just asked Elon Musk and Space X to 'go get' the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.
"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 shared the post on Twitter earlier today, adding a salute emoji to the post.
Despite Trump accusing 'the Biden Administration' of having 'virtually abandoned' the astronauts, NASA states it and SpaceX 'assessed various options for managing the next crewed handover, including using another Dragon spacecraft and manifest adjustments'.
"After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025," it's blog post resolved.
UNILAD has contacted NASA for comment.