President Trump just asked Elon Musk to retrieve two NASA astronauts from the International Space Station. But the duo are already slated to come home with SpaceX this spring.

NASA already had such a plan in place to return the astronauts to Earth — utilizing SpaceX. In June, Williams and Wilmore launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard Boeing’s new Starliner on what was supposed to be an eight-day test mission.

While Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s situation is unusual, their return trip will be pretty routine, as they were already slated to fly home on a SpaceX capsule as part of a scheduled crew rotation.

Astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rode a Boeing Starliner to the station in June 2024 for what was supposed to be an eight-day mission. But NASA had concerns about the Starliner after years of delays, plus leaks and thruster problems during its trip to the station, so it came back to Earth without them in September.

Two NASA astronauts flew to the International Space Station in June on Boeing's Starliner capsule. The test flight was planned for eight days but technical troubles forced the capsule to return empty.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Elon Musk's company SpaceX will "soon" begin a mission to repatriate two American astronauts who have been stranded for months on the International Space Station.

SpaceX and NASA reinforce mission assurance, ensuring safe ISS crew retrieval as Boeing’s Starliner faces setbacks. Learn about their critical partnership

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck on the ISS since June 2024 after arriving on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft as part of the Crew Flight Test mission. NASA decided that they would come home on Dragon after " uncertainties " surrounding Starliner.