NASA astronauts have been stranded on the International Space Station for nine months after what was meant to be a brief mission lasting less than two weeks. Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed that former President Joe Biden refused his offer to bring them home early, allegedly because it would have made Donald Trump and his supporters “look good.”
Wilmore and Suni Williams launched from Cape Canaveral on June 4, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for its maiden voyage, only to face thruster failures and helium leaks. They’ve been stranded on the ISS ever since, as the Starliner was sent back to Earth without the crew.
Last week, one of the stranded astronauts confirmed Musk’s account.
During a video press conference last week, a Washington Post reporter asked, "Elon Musk has said that he made the offer to bring you guys back earlier and that it was denied… Is that true?”
“I can only say that what Elon Musk says is absolutely factual," astronaut Barry Wilmore replied. "I don't know all those details, and I don't think any of us really can give you the answer that maybe that you would be hoping for."
Thankfully, their long wait to return home is almost over. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 has arrived in Florida to prepare for Wednesday’s launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, which will finally bring astronauts Wilmore and Suni Williams back from the International Space Station.
Wearing blue flight suits, the four Crew-10 members landed Friday afternoon at Kennedy Space Center in a white-and-blue NASA Gulfstream V jet, greeting about 55 media members and a small contingent of agency officials.
"Man, it's so incredible to fly into this landing strip knowing that we don't have a return ticket back to Houston," NASA astronaut and Crew-10 commander Anne McClain said, standing alongside the jet and her crewmates.
"We are going to take a little bit of an adventure before we go back," said McClain, who is a U.S. Army colonel and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot.
Crew-10 is set to launch at 7:48 p.m. EDT Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon Endurance spacecraft from Pad 39A, heading for the ISS.
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The crew includes NASA astronaut McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers—a U.S. Air Force major and F-22 Raptor pilot—along with mission specialists Takuya Onishi from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Kirill Peskov from Roscosmos.
Crew-10 will launch aboard the Dragon Endurance spacecraft, heading for low-Earth orbit before docking with the ISS around 10 a.m. Thursday. Before Crew-9 undocks on March 16, the astronauts will complete two days of handover activities aboard the ISS, weather permitting. Their Dragon capsule is set to splash down off Florida’s coast.
Crew-9 has spent the past six months conducting science and maintenance, and Crew-10 is eager to welcome them home. NASA officials emphasized the importance of Crew-10’s mission, which includes bringing Wilmore and Williams home. If delays occur, backup launch windows are available Thursday and Friday.
It’s really sad to know that Joe Biden was so petty to not let Elon Musk bring the stranded astronauts home sooner.
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