Trump's Initiative to Intervene in the Rescue Operation of ISS Astronauts Advances
The Starliner predicament has been a talking point for nearly half a year, but newly in office President Donald Trump is throwing his hat into the ring, aiming to save the day for astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. According to anonymous sources talking to Ars Technica, NASA is exploring the option of bringing these two cosmonauts back from the International Space Station (ISS) a couple of weeks earlier than initially planned, all in an effort to adhere to Trump's call to action.
President Trump took to Truth Social, claiming the Biden Administration had left the astronauts 'abandoned' in space. He made it clear that he had requested SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk to "go get" these two courageous astronauts. This sudden request has led to the need to alter current plans, moving the return date of the Starliner crew from their originally scheduled March 2025 return to an earlier March 19, 2025 departure.
NASA astronauts Williams and Wilmore had initially launched to the ISS back in June 2024, aboard Boeing's CST-100 Starliner. However, problems with the spacecraft's thrusters required NASA to send an empty Starliner back from the ISS, deeming it unsafe for their crew to return to Earth. The astronauts instead ended up returning onboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
This rapidly shifting schedule has become increasingly complex. NASA's Crew-9 mission, originally planned for September 2024 with four astronauts, had only two aboard after the initial release of the Starliner crew. Williams and Wilmore were set to return alongside the Crew-9 crew in February, but technical issues with SpaceX's Crew-10 launch persisted, further delaying the Starliner astronauts' return by several weeks into early April.
To avoid further delays, NASA has now decided to swap spacecraft, according to Ars Technica. NASA has reportedly requested SpaceX to launch the Crew-10 mission onboard its Dragon C210 vehicle no earlier than March 12. The Dragon C210, known as Endurance, last flew in March 2024 after completing the Crew-7 mission and is due to launch Axiom Space's fourth private mission to the ISS in the spring. This change in plans could allow the Starliner astronauts to return to Earth on March 19, following a lengthy 286-day stay in space.
Although the astronauts' stint in space is not unusually long, the Starliner situation has captured global interest, with some going so far as to say it has taken a political turn since Trump entered office. While the crew did encounter a rough start, they are not necessarily abandoned nor in desperate need of an expedited rescue mission.
President Trump's attempt to save the astronauts earlier than planned is far from ordinary, stirring up controversy and debate as it does. The political weight of the situation has undoubtedly added a new layer to the ongoing space mission, raising questions about the political influence on crucial space operations.
The technology behind the Starliner spacecraft has been under scrutiny due to the predicament, and this incident has highlighted the importance of advanced science in space exploration. With President Trump's intervention, we might witness a significant leap in future space-related policies and collaborations between NASA and private companies like SpaceX.
