NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent nearly 10 months stuck in space despite their mission only being scheduled for a little over a week. Technical failures with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft kept them from returning to Earth as planned, but according to Elon Musk, there was another reason for the prolonged delay — the Biden administration refused SpaceX’s offer to bring them home.
Musk spoke out about the situation during an interview on Fox News, claiming that political motives led to the rejection of a faster rescue. “We definitely offered to return the astronauts earlier,” he said. “The astronauts were only supposed to be there for eight days, and they’ve been there for almost 10 months. So obviously that doesn’t make any sense. SpaceX could have brought the astronauts back after a few months at most. And we made that offer to the Biden administration. It was rejected for political reasons, and that’s just a fact.”
#BREAKING : Elon Musk accuses biden of blocking SpaceX mission to bring Sunita Williams home.
"The astronauts were only supposed to be up there for 8 days and now have been there for 8 months," Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter). "SpaceX could have sent up another Dragon and… pic.twitter.com/yahqfhaFUh
— upuknews (@upuknews1) March 19, 2025
Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, but soon after, major issues — including multiple helium leaks and thruster malfunctions — left the vehicle incapable of returning them home. Instead of accepting outside assistance, the Biden administration held off on approving a SpaceX mission to recover them.
Gracias al presidente Trump y a la cápsula espacial Crew Dragon de SpaceX, de Elon Musk, los astronautas que habían sido abandonados en el espacio por Biden durante nueve meses, ya están de regreso en casa. pic.twitter.com/h3i50EACSz
— James Nava (@JamesNavaCom) March 19, 2025
President Donald Trump publicly blasted Biden over the issue, saying that the astronauts had been left in space without a plan for their return. In a statement posted earlier this year, Trump said he had personally asked Musk to bring them home, ensuring their safety after what he described as Biden’s failure to act.
Good morning !
Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams are safely back on Earth after nine months in space, thanks to Elon Musk and his SpaceX team. While the Biden administration left them stranded, Elon stepped up and his Dragon Crew brought our heroes… pic.twitter.com/lfs3LceJN5
— Zelena✨WECKER (@wonamby) March 19, 2025
Musk later credited Trump with cutting through the political delays, allowing SpaceX to complete the mission. On Tuesday, Wilmore, Williams, Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov finally made it back to Earth, splashing down off the coast of Florida in a SpaceX capsule.
Never forget:
Joe Biden hates Elon Musk so much, he left 2 astronauts stranded on the ISS for 9 months, basically to die. #NASA Dragon landing! @SpaceX https://t.co/JY4IFI8Cu6
— Prof. Whitey McPriviledged 𝕏 (@WhiteBoySpicy) March 18, 2025
NASA official Joel Montalbano refused to comment on whether Biden had actually blocked earlier rescue efforts, only saying that the agency followed orders from the current administration.
