Elon Musk Praises SpaceX for Successful Astronaut Rescue
Elon Musk congratulated the SpaceX team for their ’excellent work’ in safely returning two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station.
In a recent interview on ‘Hannity,’ Elon Musk expressed his gratitude and congratulations to the SpaceX and NASA teams for successfully rescuing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had been stranded at the International Space Station since June 2024. Their mission, originally planned for one week, was extended due to technical issues with Boeing’s spacecraft, leading to months of waiting for a safe return.
Musk highlighted the collaborative effort between SpaceX and NASA, stating, ‘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.’ The successful return saw Wilmore, Williams, Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov splash down off the coast of Florida.
The rescue mission became politically charged, with Musk and former President Donald Trump accusing the Biden administration of delaying the astronauts’ return for political reasons. Musk claimed that SpaceX had offered to bring the astronauts back earlier, but the offer was rejected. ‘The astronauts were only supposed to be there for eight days, and they’ve been there for almost ten months. So, obviously, that doesn’t make any sense,’ Musk explained.
Despite the political controversy, the focus remained on the safe return of the astronauts. NASA’s Deputy Associate Administrator Joel Montalbano acknowledged the successful mission but did not comment on the political allegations, stating, ‘It was clear we had a request from the current administration, and the results you saw are what we saw today with the landing of Crew-9.’
Musk’s comments and the successful rescue mission underscore the ongoing collaboration between SpaceX and NASA, as well as the complex interplay of politics and space exploration.