Donald Trump has asked Elon Musk’s SpaceX to return two stranded Nasa astronauts from the International Space Station “as soon as possible”.
The two American astronauts were left stuck in space when their Boeing Starliner craft developed a fault during a test mission in June last year.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams were already due to return back on a SpaceX capsule in March, but the US president said he had asked Musk to speed up that return.
"I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to 'go get' the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”
Musk said SpaceX would “do so”.
Wilmore and Williams flew Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the ISS last summer for an eight-day test mission that instead has lasted nearly a year because of problems with the craft's propulsion system.
Nasa then deemed Starliner too risky to bring them back to Earth and asked SpaceX to return them on a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
That craft is already docked with the space station, having flown there for Nasa’s Crew-9 astronaut rotation mission in September with empty seats for Wilmore and Williams.
The astronauts' original February departure date on Crew-9 was delayed to late March because SpaceX needed more time "to complete processing" of a new Crew Dragon capsule that will replace theirs for the mission, Nasa said in December.
Complicating matters is the fact that an early return might leave the International Space Station’s US contingent understaffed.
It was unclear whether Trump's demand would mean Nasa bringing Crew-9 back to Earth before the Crew-10 capsule arrives, or SpaceX launching Crew-10 earlier than planned.
Returning Crew-9 to Earth before Crew-10's arrival would mean Nasa astronaut Don Pettit, who flew to the ISS with a Russian crew in September, would be the only American aboard the station.
Wilmore and Williams are among seven astronauts on the ISS, and they remain healthy and busy with routine scientific research aboard the station, Nasa has said.
