
Musk Says Biden Blocked SpaceX Rescue Of Stranded Astronauts For ‘Political Reasons’
Tech mogul Elon Musk said the Biden administration refused his offer to bring two NASA astronauts home months ago, leaving them stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nearly 10 months. He made the claim Tuesday night during an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity,” saying SpaceX could have conducted the rescue long before NASA approved it.
“We definitely offered to return the astronauts earlier. There’s no question about that,” Musk 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
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, for what was intended to be a short mission. However, five helium leaks and five failures in the reaction control thrusters extended their time on the ISS. NASA deemed the spacecraft unsafe for their return, keeping the astronauts stuck in orbit far beyond their scheduled mission.
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
NASA and SpaceX ultimately coordinated a return plan, and Williams, Wilmore, Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov splashed down off the Florida coast Tuesday evening. The landing marked the end of a drawn-out saga that critics say was unnecessarily prolonged by political decisions rather than safety concerns.
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
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
Musk took the opportunity to congratulate his team, calling the mission’s completion a “moment of optimism.” He also thanked President Donald Trump for stepping in to get the astronauts home, saying Trump prioritized and expedited the process after what Musk described as Biden’s inaction. Trump publicly blasted Biden for the delay, posting on social media that the astronauts had been “virtually abandoned” in space. He instructed Musk to “go get” them, emphasizing that they had been waiting for months due to what he believed was political interference.
NASA officials, however, downplayed Musk’s allegations. Deputy Associate Administrator Joel Montalbano refused to comment on any discussions under Biden, only saying that the agency acted based on the current administration’s requests.