SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has pledged to retrieve two astronauts he said are currently stranded aboard the International Space Station—with a planned launch for the operation in “about four weeks.”

NASA confirmed that the astronauts are set to return aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, with a launch tentatively scheduled for March 12.

In his role as senior adviser to the president, Musk joined President Donald Trump on Feb. 18 for a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, and insisted his company was “accelerating the return of the astronauts”—a return he claimed had been postponed “to a ridiculous degree.”

It’s been more than 260 days since NASA astronauts Barry (Butch) Wilmore and Sunita (Suni) Williams launched into space from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

The duo was originally scheduled for a 7-to-10-day mission on board the International Space Station, but instead found themselves in space for the last 37 weeks after technical issues forced NASA to recall the Starliner to Earth in September—without the 2 astronauts.

In the Feb. 18 interview, Trump said the two “got left in space,” blaming his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

“We don’t want to be complacent, but we have brought astronauts back from the space station many times before, and always with success,” Musk said in the same interview.

During a news conference in June 2024, Steve Stich, the manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, told members of the media that he wanted “to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space.”

“We have a little bit more work to do to get there for the final return. But they’re safe on space station,” Stich said. “Their spacecraft is working well, and they’re enjoying their time on the space station.”

The sentiment was reportedly echoed by the astronauts themselves, with Wilmore telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Feb. 13, “We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded.”

NASA is currently studying the long-term effects of space flight, which can include bone loss, an increased risk of cancer, vision impairment, and mental health issues.

While answering questions from elementary school students last month, Williams admitted that she’s trying to recall how to walk.

“I’ve been up here long enough … I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk,” Williams said. “I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down. You don’t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here.”