I A post on x On Tuesday evening, Elon Musk said President Trump had asked his rocket company Space X to bring home “as soon as possible”, which are two NASA astronauts at the International Space Station since June.
Space x, in fact, is Already schedule these two astronauts to bring homeBut not before the end of March, with two other astronauts who are currently on the plane. NASA has not answered the questions whether it is really doing to come home to the astronauts who can leave the space station pressed.
Hours later, Mr. Trump in his own post True social on the websiteConfirming the request, saying, “Elon will soon be on its way,” without setting a timeframe for a return journey.
In June, astronauts, Sunny Williams and Boch Vilmor did not do. Their journey will not last more than a week or two in orbit as part of the Boeing star liner spacecraft test flight. But since there was a malfunction in the star liner’s propulsion system while traveling there, NASA repeatedly expanded the couple’s stay when engineers tried to find out what had been wrong.
“The terrifying that the Biden administration left them there for so long,” Mr Musk added in his posting.
In his social position, Mr Trump echoed the sentiment, claiming that Ms Williams and Mr. Vilmor were “practically abandoned by the Biden administration in space.” In fact, the space station has been Re -developed four times Since the two have arrived.
During the Biden administration, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson did not respond to the commentary.
Being anxious with the vehicle, NASA officials decided that the star liner would return to the ground without Ms Williams and Mr. Vilmor, who remained in orbit as part of the space station staff. At present, Mr Nelson said that the most important concern of NASA officials was the protection of Ms Williams and Mr. Willmor.
The star liner landed on September 7 without any problem.
Due to two additional astronauts in the orbit, NASA and its international partners entered the next staff heading to the Space Station on the Space X staff Dragon, a mission called Staff 9.
The astronauts usually spend about half a year at the space station before returning to the same spacecraft, on which they flew to arrive. But since Ms Williams and Mr. Vilmor had no longer been home to ride, two of the four astronauts were actually left on the ground for the staff 9 when the mission launched on September 28. She left two seats for Ms Williams. Mr. Vilmor was expected in February for a return trip.
Before the return of astronauts, NASA has preferred to avoid the periods of replacing them instead, which hinders scientific research at the space station and possibly small in an emergency. Makes the staff overwhelmed.
If something is broken by NASA of the checkpoint and need a space walk to repair it, only one NASA astronaut – Don Pattet – to perform this task. It will be dangerous, as space walks are usually done in the couple. The two Russian astronauts on the board can help, but they are less familiar with the system.
For the next astronaut launch, the staff 10, SpaceX, plans to use a new staff dragon.
But in December, NASA announced that Space X needed more time to finish the preparation and testing of a new capsule, and that the return of Ms Williams and Mr. Vilmor was delayed once again at the end of March.
NASA has avoided calling astronauts “trapped”, as Mr. Musk did in his position. The space agency has repeatedly insisted that the health of Ms Williams and Mr. Vilmor is good and that the extension is established within the limits of other astronauts in orbit.
Accelerating return can be presented to NASA officials with a difficult choice. Until the new staff arrives, with only three astronauts, only three Russians, one American -, can reduce the station.
In principle, Ms Williams and Mr. Vilmur could return to NASA and leave other astronauts who launched in orbit in September. But this will leave these astronauts to return to the ground without any path if they need to be evacuated.
Or Space X can use one of its staff, possibly colliding with astronauts from a flying flight to the Space Station in the spring, on a private mission run by Houston’s company Xemom Space.
