SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has confirmed his offer to help return NASA astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS). This is the same offer that the tech billionaire made in 2024 after the space agency’s mission extended from an intended 8-day stay to a prolonged 8-month stint. A post on social media platform X (earlier Twitter) claimed that astronaut Butch Wilmorewho flew to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner last year has stated that the delayed return was due to political interference by the Biden administration—even though SpaceX could have launched another Dragon to bring them home six months ago. Replying to this post on X, Musk said that US President Trump had called for their prompt return, a move now set in motion despite the controversy.
Talking about returning the astronauts stranded on ISS, Musk wrote: “The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days and now have been there for 8 months. SpaceX could have sent up another Dragon and brought them home 6 months ago, but the Biden White House (not NASA) refused to allow it. President Trump asked to bring them back as soon as possible and we are doing so.”
Musk’s reply came after a post on X reported NASA saying: “Turns out Elon Musk was telling the truth. Biden refused to let the stranded astronauts to come home last year for political reasons.”
NASA’s confirmation was shared after another X post claimed: “Astronaut Butch Wilmorewho went to the ISS on the Boeing Starliner last year, has confirmed that @elonmusk offered to help bring NASA astronauts back in 2024. He also stated that the return was delayed by the Biden Administration for political reasons.”
However, Wilmore’s fellow Indian-origin astronaut, Sunita Williamsadmitted that she was unaware of the detailed discussions behind the delay.
Musk, known for his support of Trump, claimed that the then US government postponed SpaceX’s mission as it was politically motivated to prevent the company from gaining favourable publicity ahead of the presidential election.
In an interview with Fox News, Musk said: “They didn’t want the publicity. Working with us to bring the astronauts back would have made Trump look good, and they didn’t want that before the election.”
