In a surprising turn of events, President Donald Trump has called upon SpaceX CEO, and billionaire Entrepreneur, Elon Musk to urgently rescue two NASA astronauts who find themselves stranded in space after their spacecraft experienced a critical malfunction. The astronauts, who were sent to the International Space Station (ISS) by a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, are currently stranded in a low Earth orbit due to an unspecified issue.
According to White House officials, President Trump is taking the situation very seriously, as the safety of the crew, their families, as well as the reputation of the United States’ space program are all at stake. As NASA officials try to analyze the controllable problem, President Trump turned to Elon Musk’s SpaceX for assistance, given the company’s recent successful mission of transporting astronauts to the ISS.
Although not officially confirmed, it is believed that Elon Musk’s newly founded space company will act on President Trump’s request, given the urgency of the situation. A potential rescue mission would require a mission-specific spacecraft to interfere in the ISS’s orbit and transport the stranded astronauts back to Earth in a safe manner, which will likely be costly and time-consuming.
Regardless of whether Elon Musk accepts the call from President Trump, it is evident that the situation of the stranded astronauts has reached an important point at which the global space community is closely watching. With the anticipation of astronauts returning from future missions in improved SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, this event has the potential to showcase SpaceX’s capabilities and the future of commercial spaceflight.
