Welcome home Butch and Suni.
 

It has been a long time coming.

Hooray to SpaceX and Elon Musk for their rescue. A perfect flight up to the ISS, booster landed back on the X spot. And a perfect flight back to earth splashing down in Gulf of America. Did you see the dolphins circling the capsule bobbing in the water? Yet another Musk company - built from scratch - is changing our world.

So happy for the two astronauts who are Finally back on earth. It will no doubt be a very long and demanding recuperation and adjustment to life on land again. But they are home.

There are many people involved with this kind of operation. Hats off to them. I doubt if Musk had much of anything to do with this work of art.

Musk did run the business which has been extremely successful. He does hire capable people.

Space X has had a huge number of failures the last I looked. But that is the norm when the testing the limitations of scientific knowledge of space travel. I am not a fan of Elon Musk.

I am a fan of NASA.

???? Elon Musk was integral in starting and funding SpaceX from scratch. He was intimately involved in the engineering and technical development. The first 3 Falcon rockets failed and blew up. SpaceX was almost bankrupt, as was Tesla. Musk rolled it all, giving $1M each to SpaceX and Tesla- almost his entire bankroll. The 4th rocket succeeded and Tesla took off as well.
BTW, the booster landings back on earth, integral to Elon’s strategy for space travel —- he has now successfully landed 400 boosters to reuse. Amazing physics.
Please. Without Musk this would never have happened.
Reference Walter Isaacson’s biography last year of Musk. So intriguing.

False. SpaceX has had a remarkable track record of success, though it’s not without some failures—failure is part of pushing boundaries in aerospace. Since its founding in 2002, SpaceX has launched over 400 Falcon 9 rockets, with the vast majority succeeding. As of March 19, 2025, the Falcon 9 has achieved a success rate of around 97%, with only a handful of notable failures, like the 2015 CRS-7 mission explosion or the 2016 AMOS-6 pre-launch incident. These setbacks were heavily publicized, but they’re dwarfed by the sheer volume of successful launches, landings, and missions—like Starlink deployments or crewed Dragon flights to the ISS. Compared to the early days of space exploration, where failure rates were much higher, SpaceX’s record is impressive. Context matters: “huge number” suggests a pattern of consistent flops, which doesn’t align with the data. They’ve had hiccups, sure, but they’ve mastered turning lessons into wins.

I'm convinced that those who "aren't fans of Elon Musk" are just irredeemably jealous of his intellect, success, and wealth. Be careful...the Green-Eyed Monster will consume you.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

We all know they'll need extensive physical rehab now, but I also wonder how their mental health is after that ordeal. Will they want to go back into space?!!

It could have been done last year.

Elon was Chief Engineer throughout the Design and Manufacture of the Falcon 9 rocket and oversaw the Design and Manufacture of the Capsule that transports astronauts to and from the ISS. Elon is very "hands-on", so please don't try to diminish his role in anything that he's involved in.

Suni is my college classmate. She was asked that question in a Teams meeting we had with her a few weeks ago. Her response was that she wants to go to the Moon and Mars.

Please stay on topic and completely away from anything that even hints at politics so the thread can remain open.

A tone of “kindness” is appreciated for all discussions.

Doesn’t Space X make the decision who gets a ride to and from? I am sure they could have been brought back sooner, but my guess is Musk made the decision, to wait.

Returning could have been impacted by $$$$$$$. I am sure it’s wasn’t a free ride.

Since the team wasn’t originally from Space X, wouldn’t they have wait for a favor, or go to the end of the line, until it’s big publicity and profitable for Space X?

286 days. The US Astronaut record is 371. The world record is 414.

They flew long-duration missions before, so were well-acquainted with life in microgravity.

They were never stranded, or stuck. Those are sensational journalistic editorial comments by reporters who know better.

The International Space Station accommodates visiting crew vehicles docked with seats for every crew member to quickly depart in the event of a serious issue requiring rapid return.

SpaceX and Boeing were contracted by NASA to develop crew transport to the ISS when it was decided to retire the Space Shuttle.

SpaceX already was under contract to provide cargo delivery.

Boeing's Starliner will fly to the Station again. The next flight may be uncrewed with cargo, but it will fly crew again to rotate with Crew Dragon every six months as originally laid out by NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

People have lived on the Station permanently conducting these same rotations since Nov 2, 2000, when Expedition 1 arrived on a Soyuz spacecraft with a US Astronaut and two Russian Cosmonauts. That means a 25 year old has never known life on Earth without someone living in space.

Brave lady. Accomplished veteran pilot. All astronauts are heroes.

I really enjoyed reading Musk's biography. Not an easy man to work for but has accomplished so much.

Very very true. Sad that some will never praise no matter what his companies accomplish.

What an incredible sight! I was on the fourth floor of the Brownwood Hotel and Spa and got to see it coming down live. So glad they are back safe and sound. What an accomplishment!

False!! Elon offered to bring them back 4 months ago & it was rejected.
To the admin. I'm not bringing up politics, just stating the truth. Thank you🇺🇸

They made it very clear that they weren't "rescued." A rescue would be because there was no plan or way for NASA to bring them home, which is the bs Musk was blathering, hoping to put to a stain on NASA. There was always a plan to bring them home.

Oh, they were fans when all he did was practically create the EV market from scratch. They couldn't shut up about what a demigod Elon Musk was then. What they are not fans of is his politics and recently developed and educated world view.

Deeply troubled is the fickle heart.

The book/Bio of Musk is extremely interesting. An immigrant from his birth country, South Africa. A truly self-made man. A true genius. A true risk-taker and peaceful American citizen... Started so many successful companies with one thing in common, improve the world. Each of these companies were spawned in the USA, pay taxes, and employs many thousands of Americans. He deeply cares about our country and is now risking his life (death threats abound) to take part in making the USA financially sound.

SpaceX
To reduce the cost of space exploration, Musk created SpaceX in 2002. SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced aircraft.

SpaceX is the only private company to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit and take humans to and from the International Space Station. The company believes in the power of a reusable rocket. The company, valued at over $100 billion, is one of the most valuable private companies in the world.

X, Previously Known as Twitter
Musk’s goals for the social media site include promoting free speech.


xAI
On July 12, 2023, Musk announced via Twitter the launch of a new artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI. With a goal to "understand the true nature of the universe,” some of the team’s members include previous employees of Google Research, DeepMind, and Microsoft Research.

The Boring Company
Musk founded American construction company The Boring Company in 2016. Its projects are primarily designed for intra-city transit systems to solve traffic challenges and enable point-to-point transportation.


Neuralink Corporation
Musk is also the owner and co-founder of Neuralink Corporation, a neurotechnology company developing implantable brain-machine interfaces. The company’s main goal is to create brain implants that can communicate with phones and computers as well as help people with paralysis regain independence.

“Our devices are designed to give people the ability to communicate more easily via text or speech synthesis, to follow their curiosity on the web, or to express their creativity through photography, art, or writing apps,” Neuralink’s website states.

Zip2
Although Zip2 is no longer in business, it was the first enterprise Musk founded back in 1995. The company provided a searchable business directory — basically an “internet version of the yellow pages” with maps included.

The company’s mission, according to Musk, was “that everyone ought to be able to find the closest pizza parlour and to be able to figure out how to get there.”

OpenAI
Musk founded OpenAI, a nonprofit research and development company, in 2015.

The company is a DeepMind competitor with the goal of ensuring that “artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”


Tesla
The company Musk is probably most well known for is Tesla. An American electric vehicle and clean energy company, Tesla has made headlines since its founding in 2003 thanks to its advancements in the automotive industry and its clean energy efforts.

Tesla hopes to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy by producing energy storage systems such as solar panels and solar roof tiles, as well as batteries for electric vehicles. While the company has a number of accolades under its belt, it notably designed the first premium all-electric sedan.


SolarCity
The company, which was founded in 2004 by two of Musk’s cousins, was acquired by Tesla in 2016 for $2.6 billion.

Yes, they'd go back in a heartbeat. They said their time there was not lost.
If you've been following them, Suni said she realizes that this will probably be her and Butch's last mission due to their age.
However, she was quoted as saying that is exactly why she doesn't mind every extra day in space. She said they were continuing to conduct experiments, and she was enjoying every moment and said several times, it is FUN.

She also thanked Elon Musk!

I am beyond thrilled to see Suni as a beautiful Role Model for young girls/ young women, as opposed to Kim Kardashebutt.

[QUOTE=Tvflguy;2417051]Hooray to SpaceX and Elon Musk for their rescue. A perfect flight up to the ISS, booster landed back on the X spot. And a perfect flight back to earth splashing down in Gulf of America. Did you see the dolphins circling the capsule bobbing in the water? Yet another Musk company - built from scratch - is changing our world.

Immigrants are good for our country!

Yes!!! 100%!!!
 

yes!!! 100%!

What decade?������

He has made incredible accomplishments benefiting all of us in some ways we will not be aware of for some time.

I think you might be nostalgic for the NASA of the old days.

She is one of the special ones!

Without Elon they would still be up there. I view him as the Leonardo da Vinci of our time.

YES! Also a bit more contemporary - Edison and Jobs.

And there is concrete evidence that he offered SpaceX to rescue the astronauts a month or two after the Starliner failed - but was rejected. And during a video conference with the two while up in the ISS - they both agreed, knew the truth.

There had been a scheduled return last year, that was expected to take place in late February/early March.

If Elon had divested and left SpaceX, the astronauts would have been returned by SpaceX without Elon.

I don't care how much money he has. It doesn't impress me. SpaceX doesn't impress me. Musk is not an engineer, he's not a decent coder, he can't even play a video game without being caught cheating. His claim to fame isn't that he "did" anything. It's that he "owned" things.

All he is, is a spoiled rich bigot who's good at buying companies. He didn't "create" a thing. Comparing him to DaVinci is like comparing your favorite pet hamster to an elephant. The only thing they have in common is that they're both animals.

Now that is a stretch. Leonardo da Vinci is one of the best minds of all time. Elon Musk is not even in the same league.

OMG. Elon IS the Head Engineer of SpaceX. A true Rocket Scientist. He started from zero and is responsible for extraordinary products and services to the World. Simply amazing. He does not simply buy companies…. Yikes. Didn’t create a thing? Another OMG.

He WAS the Darling of SO many before a couple years ago. What changed? Well we all know.

The Anger is astounding. As is the horrible acts to Tesla offices and autos. We have a Tesla which is amazing.
Comparing him to an animal, well I’ll leave that be….omg.

We’ll let history sort all that out.
Elon is a genius and proves that be all his accomplishments each day. He is a peaceful company builder hoping for a peaceful and prosperous world. Doesn’t anyone ever do research or view neutral news sources???
He may not be in the same league but, boy, he is right up there. To people who know and honor the truth.

History will not be kind to Musk unless he and /or his fans are writing it.


Einstein, Oppenheimer and many Noble prize winners have done far more for the world than Elon Musk.