Liftoff is scheduled for 8:34 p.m. ET tonight (Jan. 29).

Posts by President Trump and Elon Musk roiled the space community, raising the prospect of an earlier-than-planned return for the Starliner crew.

NASA affirmed on Wednesday a plan it set last year to work with Elon Musk's SpaceX in returning two astronauts from the International Space Station, saying it will do so "as soon as practical," the day after President Donald Trump suggested he wants a quicker return for the crew.

SpaceX is scheduled to bring home two astronauts who have been on the International Space Station since June. Mr. Musk said President Trump had asked for that to occur “as soon as possible.”

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.

Elon Musk says Donald Trump has asked SpaceX to rescue two astronauts who have been in space for more than seven months — even though NASA has said there's a plan in place.

Elon Musk says Donald Trump has asked SpaceX to rescue two astronauts who have been in space for more than seven months — even though NASA has said there's a plan in place. In a

NASA has repeatedly delayed rescue operations for stranded astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were only expected to be on the station for a week. The pair have been stranded since June.

NASA appears to be retaining existing plans to return astronauts from the International Space Station after calls to bring them back “as soon as possible.”

Donald Trump urged Elon Musk to retrieve two NASA astronauts from the ISS, prompting a response from Musk and a denial from NASA.

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.