Fears grow for NASA's stranded astronauts

The two astronauts that have been stranded in space for over eight months may not be coming home anytime soon.

A SpaceX rocket’s recent explosion has unlocked new fears surrounding bringing back the astronauts who have been in space since June of 2024.

SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, was tasked with bringing astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore home from the International Space Station, where they had been trapped.

“We love you and we're coming up to get you, and you shouldn't have been up there so long,” President Donald Trump said to Williams and Wilmore.

Trump also noted that he asked Must for a “favor.”

“Elon is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them. I said, 'Are you equipped to get them?' He said, 'Yes,' He's got a starship and they're preparing it right now. So, Elon is going to go up and get them,” Trump continued.

Trump also added that Musk’s craft “is preparing to go up in two weeks.”

Musk seems very confident in his company’s ability to bring the pair home.

In a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Musk said “There isn’t anyone else who can do it.”

“The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is the only one that is considered safe enough to bring them back,” he added.

However, SpaceX’s recent failed launch and explosion has led many Americans concerned about if Musk even the capabilities has to bring the astronauts home.

Posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, have proven many users are skeptical.

“Elon Musk's SpaceX with another Starship explosion! FAA has to halt flights. This is the guy that wants to bring home the stranded astronauts,” one user wrote on X.

“Let this Starship mission not be an omen to the Spacex mission to save the astronauts stranded in the ISS,” another wrote.

“Hey [POTUS]! You did see that [Elon Musk's Starship] rocket blew up — AGAIN! Please don't do our astronauts any of your favors. [NASA] stop this lunatic,” yet another X user added.

Physics professor Mike Pravica from the University of Nevada also released a statement that he believes Musk’s company may be “biting off much more than they can chew when it comes to something as complex and technical as space travel.”

“As Elon Musk and Donald Trump appear to be defunding scientific research in America as well as higher education in science and technology, I am deeply worried about the future of space travel in the U.S.,” Pravica also said.