NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew to the ISS in the summer of 2024 for a routine eight-day test mission. However, due to problems with the propulsion system of Boeing’s Starliner capsule,

President Trump on Tuesday announced that he has asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to “go get” two NASA astronauts who have been aboard the International Space Station since June awaiting a return trip to Earth.

A spokesperson with NASA, which oversees SpaceX’s flights to the ISS, said “NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions.”