Astronauts Thank President Trump and Elon Musk for Their Rescue from Space
Astronauts have expressed "immense gratitude" to former U.S. President Donald Trump, who tasked SpaceX with the responsibility of their rescue mission. Tesla owner and tech mogul Elon Musk congratulated SpaceX and NASA for their excellent work in rescuing two astronauts who had been stranded at the International Space Station for nearly nine months.
Musk, in an exclusive interview on "Hannity" on Tuesday, said, "Thanks to the excellent work of the SpaceX team working with NASA, the astronauts are now safely home. So congratulations to the SpaceX and NASA teams on excellent work."
Additionally, as the founder of SpaceX and spokesperson for the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), Musk expressed "huge gratitude" to former President Donald Trump, who entrusted SpaceX with the mission.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had been at the International Space Station since June 2024. Their mission was initially set for just one week, but due to technical issues with Boeing’s first crewed spacecraft, their return to Earth was delayed. As a result, Wilmore and Williams remained stranded at the space station.
On Tuesday, news came that they, along with their fellow astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, had successfully returned to Earth. Their splashdown occurred off the coast of Florida at around 6 p.m.
The return of Wilmore and Williams became a political issue, as the Trump administration claimed the Biden administration had delayed their rescue. Musk had previously told Fox News host Sean Hannity on February 18 that the Biden administration had left the astronauts in space for "political reasons."
President Trump had tasked Elon Musk with bringing the two astronauts home and accused the Biden administration of failing to act sooner. "I have asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX 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 the @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck, Elon!!!," Trump posted at the time.
Meanwhile, during a press conference, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate, Joel Montalbano, was asked about Trump and Musk’s claims that the Biden administration had delayed the return for political reasons. He responded, "I was not involved in any conversations with the previous administration. However, we had a request from the current administration, and as you saw today, the results are clear with the landing of Crew-9."
When Hannity pressed Musk about the political reasons behind the astronauts' delayed return, Musk clarified, "We definitely offered to bring the astronauts back earlier, there’s no question about that. They were supposed to be there for only 8 days, but they ended up being stuck for almost 10 months. SpaceX could have brought them back within a few months, and we made that offer to the Biden administration. It was rejected for political reasons, and that's just a fact."
