President Donald Trump took to social media this week to announce he had directed SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to “go get” two NASA astronauts who have been on a protracted stay at the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner mission, which launched in June and was expected to last about eight days, ran into multiple technical issues.

NASA’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Commander Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore removed a broken antenna and wiped the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.

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.