Why Were They Stuck in Space for Nine Months?
Two American astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, are set to come back to Earth on Tuesday evening, March 18, after an unexpected nine-month delay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA has been coordinating with SpaceX, the private spaceflight company owned by Elon Musk, to ensure safe landing conditions off Florida’s coast. Officials confirm that conditions are now favorable for their long-overdue return.
📢 LATEST UPDATE:
✔ NASA confirms a return date for Wilmore and Williams.
✔ SpaceX Crew-10 has successfully replaced the outgoing crew.
✔ Trump slams Biden for ‘abandoning’ astronauts in space!
Keep reading to find out why this mission took so long and what really happened behind the scenes.
🔥 NASA’s Major Delays Left Astronauts Stranded
Wilmore and Williams originally launched in June 2023 as part of a test mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Their mission was only supposed to last a week. However, serious technical issues with Starliner left NASA scrambling for a backup plan.
Instead of bringing them back right away, NASA opted to delay their return multiple times, waiting for an available SpaceX mission.
🚀 What went wrong?
❌ Boeing’s Starliner wasn’t ready for a safe return.
❌ NASA pushed their return to February’s Crew-9 mission—which also got delayed.
❌ Finally, SpaceX Crew-10 launched Friday evening to replace the stranded astronauts.
The new ISS crew includes:
✅ Anne McClain (NASA)
✅ Nichole Ayers (NASA)
✅ Takuya Onishi (Japan)
✅ Kirill Peskov (Russia)
With the swap complete, Wilmore and Williams will finally return home alongside fellow astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
🇺🇸 Trump Slams Biden for Leaving Astronauts in Space
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social earlier this year to blast the Biden administration for neglecting the space program and leaving American astronauts stranded.
“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!!!”
Trump accused Biden’s team of “virtually abandoning” the astronauts and praised Elon Musk for stepping up when the government failed.
🔴 Do you agree with President Trump? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
✈ When Will They Land?
✅ NASA has confirmed Tuesday, March 18 as the official return date.
✅ SpaceX will execute a splashdown off Florida’s coast in the evening.
✅ Weather conditions are favorable for landing.
This situation raises serious concerns about the state of America’s space program under Biden. Should we rely more on private industry like SpaceX to ensure U.S. leadership in space?
👉 Let us know what you think!