SpaceX founder Elon Musk thanked his program and NASA after two American astronauts were brought back down to Earth after being stranded at the International Space Station for nine months.
“Thanks to the excellent work of the SpaceX team working with NASA, the astronauts are now safely home. And so congratulations to the SpaceX NASA teams on excellent work,” Musk said during an interview on the FOX News program Hannity Tuesday (March 18) night.
United States astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived in Florida on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule ‘Freedom,’ on Tuesday. The two astronauts were initially scheduled to spend 10 days at the ISS in June and return home with fellow American Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov following the completion of their Crew 9 million, however, got stranded when their Boeing Starliner capsule suffered leaks and mechanical issues, forcing NASA to return the craft without anyone aboard.
SpaceX served as the only backup available to return the two astronauts and was scheduled to launch after Crew 10 arrived this past weekend to relieve Wilmore and Williams of their ISS duties. Musk, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and the leader of his newly launched Department of Government Efficiency, offered a “huge note of appreciation” to the president “for prioritizing and expediting the return.”
The billionaire had previously blamed former President Joe Biden for the two astronauts not returning sooner, claiming plans were shelved and that the mission had been marred by political mudslinging, which Biden administration officials have denied. Wilmore and Williams spent an estimated 285 days in space, which is the sixth-longest NASA spaceflight mission.
Recent Comments