Stranded astronauts thank Musk, Trump for facilitating return; Sunita says, ‘will be back before long’

WASHINGTON: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, who are to return to earth after being stranded in space for over nine months, expressed gratitude for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump.

In the video posted by Musk on X, Sunita Williams said, “We are coming back before long, so don’t make those plans without me. We’ll be back before too long”.

Butch Wilmore said, “All of us have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk and obviously respect and admiration for our President of the United States Donald Trump. We appreciate them, we appreciate all what they do for us, human spaceflight for our nation, and we’re thankful for the positions they are in”.

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2025

Wilmore and Williams have been stranded on the ISS for nine months after reaching there in June last year. They were supposed to stay there for about a week. The astronauts were transported from Earth to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

However, the spacecraft came back to Earth unmanned in September. This came after Starliner faced “helium leaks” and “issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters” while docking with the ISS, Fox News reported.

Their return to Earth is now set for Tuesday evening. Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to travel back alongside Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov docked with the International Space Station on Sunday.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to rescue the stranded astronauts sooner than NASA had planned. He has repeatedly accused former US President Joe Biden of “abandoning” them in space.

On March 7, Trump said that he has authorised Elon Musk to bring back American astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded at the International Space station since June last year.

Meanwhile, NASA, in a statement, announced that it will provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT Monday, March 17.

“NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s coast for the return of the agency’s Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station. Mission managers are targeting an earlier Crew-9 return opportunity based on favorable conditions forecasted for the evening of Tuesday, March 18,” it added.

According to a NASA statement, the updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility before less-favourable weather conditions are expected later in the week.

Mission managers will continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as Dragon’s undocking relies on several factors, including spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA and SpaceX will confirm the specific splashdown location closer to the Crew-9 return. (ANI)