SpaceX Asked To "Go Get" NASA Astronauts Stuck in Space: An Update

UPDATE: Jan. 29, 2025, 10 a.m. EST: U.S. President Donald Trump has asked entrepreneur Elon Musk to use SpaceX to retrieve two astronauts stuck aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Space agency NASA has been monitoring the duo since June 2024, and they were initially scheduled to return home after a week.

On Dec. 17, 2024, NASA made an additional update to their previous plan more than six months after test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted into space.

NASA continues to keep the public informed of Wilmore and Williams' status and has stated previously the duo are not "stranded."

Read below to learn more about the astronauts stuck in space, including when NASA plans to launch new ships to retrieve the waylaid passengers and President Trump's plan to have them returned.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to “go get” the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration. They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!"

Musk responded on his own social media platform X that he will do so.

Since the initial reports of technical issues, NASA has insisted the astronauts "are not stranded in space," per the Guardian's recounting of a press conference held by NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stitch, in August 2024.

In December 2024, it seemed Crew-9 members Wilmore and Williams would be stationed on the ISS until at least spring 2025, per a statement from NASA officials, due to the need for a new spaceship to remove them.

"Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail," Stitch explained in the statement.

The reason Williams and Wilmore are spending so much time in space has to do with the rocket that transported them there.

According to the Associated Press, the pair were brought on as test pilots tasked with flying the new Boeing Starliner capsule to the space station.

The voyage was meant to be a quick ten-day jaunt, but issues with the capsule — which included helium leaks and thruster failures — prompted NASA to delay their return trip multiple times before scraping it all together.

Now, their short trip has stretched into eight months, which is longer than the typical length of a space stay. The Associated Press says a typical trip to the ISS is six months long.

Fortunately, the duo doesn't seem that phased by the delays and have mentioned in interviews how much they're enjoying their extended stay at the moment.

According to the BBC, the delays have more to do with finding the right ship to get them. NASA also has to get a new crew installed on the ISS before removing the old one, and issued a statement in December 2024 they plan to launch four crew members from Crew-10 to the ISS in March 2025.

Unfortunately, that replacement crew's flight mission was delayed until February, which pushed Williams and Wilmore's ride as well.

This article, originally published on Dec. 18, 2024, has been updated.