NASA rules out immediate Crew-9 return, saying astronauts will come back “as soon as practical”

ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA appears to be retaining its existing plans to return astronauts from the International Space Station after Elon Musk said President Trump called on SpaceX to bring back two astronauts “as soon as possible.”In a statement to reporters Jan. 29, NASA stated it was proceeding with plans to return the Crew-9 astronauts “as soon as practical” and after the arrival of new astronauts on the upcoming Crew-10 mission.“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,” the agency stated.That would suggest no major changes to the agency’s plans even after both Musk and Trump posted statements on social media suggesting that SpaceX would work to immediately bring back astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been on the ISS since June, a stay extended from a couple weeks to more than eight months because of issues with their Starliner spacecraft.“The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so,” Musk posted Jan. 28.“I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space,” Trump later posted a few hours later. “Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”The statement closely aligns with NASA’s plans before those statements, which called on having Williams and Wilmore return on the Crew-9 Crew Dragon spacecraft currently docked to the station, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Aleksandr Gorbunov, who arrived on the station on Crew-9 in September. That return to Earth, expected for early April, would come after the launch of Crew-10 currently scheduled for late March, enabling a handover between the crews on the ISS.Notably, the statement would appear to rule out an immediate return of Crew-9 before the launch of Crew-10. While that would allow SpaceX to say it brought home Wiliams and Wilmore as soon as possible, it would leave just three people, including NASA astronaut Don Pettit, on the ISS, hampering the ability to do research or other activities beyond station maintenance.The NASA statement does not rule out somehow moving up the Crew-10 launch, although the mission had already slipped from a February launch to late March because of delays completing the new Crew Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the mission. Industry sources also say continued issues with the Crew Dragon could further delay Crew-10 and cause NASA and SpaceX to instead use the Crew Dragon intended to fly the Ax-4 private astronaut mission for Axiom Space, currently planned for as soon as April.Neither Musk nor Trump have elaborated on their comments since their initial posts, or responded to NASA’s statement.