After nearly 10 months on the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore finally made it back to Earth. Their return mission, however, could have happened much earlier — at least according to Elon Musk.
Musk stated in a Fox News interview that SpaceX had offered to bring the astronauts home months ago, but the Biden administration declined. “We definitely offered to return the astronauts earlier,” he said. “The astronauts were only supposed to be there for eight days, and they’ve been there for almost 10 months.”
#BREAKING : Elon Musk accuses biden of blocking SpaceX mission to bring Sunita Williams home.
"The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days and now have been there for 8 months," Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter). "SpaceX could have sent up another Dragon and… pic.twitter.com/yahqfhaFUh
— upuknews (@upuknews1) March 19, 2025
The astronauts initially launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner, which suffered multiple technical failures — including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions. These issues left NASA with no immediate plan for their safe return, forcing the astronauts to wait indefinitely.
Gracias al presidente Trump y a la cápsula espacial Crew Dragon de SpaceX, de Elon Musk, los astronautas que habían sido abandonados en el espacio por Biden durante nueve meses, ya están de regreso en casa. pic.twitter.com/h3i50EACSz
— James Nava (@JamesNavaCom) March 19, 2025
President Donald Trump called out Biden for failing to act, saying the administration had effectively abandoned the astronauts. Trump later said he had personally asked Musk to retrieve them, ensuring the mission was finally approved.
Good morning !
Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams are safely back on Earth after nine months in space, thanks to Elon Musk and his SpaceX team. While the Biden administration left them stranded, Elon stepped up and his Dragon Crew brought our heroes… pic.twitter.com/lfs3LceJN5
— Zelena✨WECKER (@wonamby) March 19, 2025
Musk later thanked Trump for getting the process moving, saying that SpaceX had been fully capable of handling the rescue long before it was authorized. On Tuesday, Williams, Wilmore, Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov finally returned, landing safely in the Gulf of Mexico aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
Never forget:
Joe Biden hates Elon Musk so much, he left 2 astronauts stranded on the ISS for 9 months, basically to die. #NASA Dragon landing! @SpaceX https://t.co/JY4IFI8Cu6
— Prof. Whitey McPriviledged 𝕏 (@WhiteBoySpicy) March 18, 2025
NASA officials declined to answer whether Biden had delayed an earlier rescue attempt, with Deputy Associate Administrator Joel Montalbano stating only that NASA acted according to the administration’s guidance.
