Former President Donald Trump shared an update on the return of NASA astronauts who have been stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Trump communicated the update through a social media post on Monday, following a discussion with Janet Petro, NASA’s acting administrator, who is managing the return of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
In his post, Trump revealed that Petro is leading a team of scientists, space engineers, and experts to facilitate the early return of the astronauts, well before the original two-week timeframe set by NASA. Trump expressed his appreciation for Petro’s prompt action.
The former president also criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, accusing him of neglecting the situation involving Wilmore and Williams. Trump claimed that the Biden administration was unable to address the astronauts’ predicament, prompting him to involve Elon Musk and SpaceX in the mission. Trump praised Musk for collaborating on the project, which involved deploying the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the rescue operation.
SpaceX’s Crew-10 arrived at the ISS on Sunday to replace Williams and Wilmore. The astronauts will use their designated SpaceX capsule to return to Earth, with splashdown scheduled for Tuesday at 5:57 p.m., assuming all goes as planned.
Trump indicated that further information about the return mission would be released soon, emphasizing the importance of safety and adherence to maximum standards. He acknowledged the extended duration of the astronauts’ mission, originally planned for a week, and looked forward to their safe return. Williams and Wilmore have been at the ISS since June of the previous year after NASA was forced to return the Boeing Starliner empty due to issues last summer.
