This would be a "shame" for the Biden administration, Donald Trump and Elon Musk wrote jointly on social media in recent hours. To criticize the former American presidency, the two new acolytes at the head of the United States have found a way to present themselves as heroes, on a file that will require almost no effort from them.
A subject of aerospace, that of the case of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts left aboard the International Space Station by decision of NASA, last summer, following a malfunction of their capsule, the Boeing Starliner. For ten months, the two astronauts have joined the crews of current missions aboard the ISS, an unprecedented change of plan, when they were only supposed to remain in orbit for a few days.
"The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to repatriate the two astronauts stuck in the International Space Station as soon as possible. "We will," Musk wrote. "It's terrible that the Biden administration left them there for so long." In late August 2024, the US space agency explained that it was basing its decision on its commitment to safety. The plan for the astronauts' return would be to wait for the next relay of Crew-Dragon, SpaceX's capsule.
So in September, SpaceX launched a capsule with two empty seats on board. The Crew-9 mission, with two astronauts, would join Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams and then return together, in a return mission scheduled for February. In view of Donald Trump's request, SpaceX should choose to launch Crew-10 earlier than planned, so that Crew-9 can return to Earth without leaving a single astronaut on board.
SpaceX, much more responsible than Joe Biden
That said, he still cares about NASA to accept such a change of schedule. But also to SpaceX. Because initially, the launch of Crew-10, which would have unlocked the return of Crew-9, was to be carried out in February. That said, SpaceX has requested an extension, until March 25, because the Dragon used that day will be a new version of the capsule, and the aerospace company would have needed more time before its inaugural flight.
Blaming the Biden administration is therefore a bit strong for Donald Trump, and for Elon Musk. The presence of the two astronauts in the ISS for ten months, in addition to the scientific interest, is more the result of Boeing, NASA and SpaceX in fine. Moreover, as Ars Technica aerospace editor Eric Berger pointed out, a premature return of Crew-9 before Crew-10 arrives would disrupt NASA’s schedule, and would cancel a planned spacewalk in March.
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