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Elon Musk makes shocking claim about the reason why NASA astronauts are still stranded in space

Home> Technology> Space

Updated 09:06 19 Feb 2025 GMTPublished 08:53 19 Feb 2025 GMT

Elon Musk makes shocking claim about the reason why NASA astronauts are still stranded in space

A SpaceX rescue vehicle will be bringing Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth in the coming weeks

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

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Elon Musk has made an outlandish claim about why two NASA astronauts ended up being stuck in space.

In June 2024, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore embarked on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission.

However, upon making it to the International Space Station, the duo were unable to return back to Earth as planned do it technical issues with their Boeing capsule.

While the capsule has since returned to Earth, it wasn't safe for Williams and Wilmore to board it and they've since remained at the ISS for the last few months.

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Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck on the ISS since June (NASA)
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck on the ISS since June (NASA)

SpaceX is set to bring the two NASA astronauts home in the near future — over eight months later than planned.

NASA said in a recent update: "NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station.

"The agency’s Crew-10 launch now is targeting Wednesday, March 12, pending mission readiness and completion of the agency’s certification of flight readiness process. The Crew-9 mission is planned for return to Earth following a several day handover period with the newly arrived Crew-10 expedition crew."

In the wake of the mishap involving Williams and Wilmore's drastically extended stay at the ISS, Elon Musk — SpaceX's founder — has weighed in on why it happened.

Speaking to Fox News, Musk alleged that the ordeal comes down to 'political reasons'.

"They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good," he said in a joint interview with President Trump.

Musk continued: "Well, we don't want to be complacent, but we have brought astronauts back from the space station many times before, and always with success."

Also weighing in, Trump said that his predecessor Joe Biden was 'going to leave them in space'.

The duo failed to elaborate on how and why Biden might have left Williams and Wilmore up in space for political advantage.

President Trump and Elon Musk did a joint interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity (Fox News)
President Trump and Elon Musk did a joint interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity (Fox News)

Going on to speak about the pending rescue mission, Musk said Trump instructed that they be brought home sooner than initially planned.

"We have brought astronauts back from the space station many times before, and always with success," the SpaceX founder added.

Despite their successful track record, Musk insisted that the team will still be 'extremely cautious' about the mission.

It's said that the SpaceX capsule will take around four weeks to get Williams and Wilmore safely back down to Earth.

UNILAD have attempted to reach out to Biden for comment.

Featured Image Credit: NASA

Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, International Space Station, Joe Biden, NASA, Politics, Space X, Space

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

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@niamhshackleton

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