Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX will immediately begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft due to threats from President Donald Trump to cancel government contracts with his businesses. The decision comes amid an escalating war of words between the two.
Musk made the announcement on Twitter, stating that he would be decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft “immediately” in response to the president’s statements about cancelling his government contracts. This move affects the only US option for delivering crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
The Dragon capsule has played a crucial role in recent missions, including bringing NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth after they were stranded on the ISS by a Boeing Starliner capsule. Most recently, a Dragon craft delivered 6,700 pounds of crew supplies, science investigations, and equipment to the ISS on April 22.
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens has reassured that NASA will continue to work with industry partners to meet President Trump’s objectives in space. As one of the biggest federal contractors, SpaceX has received over $20 billion in contracts from NASA since 2008.
SpaceX is currently developing a replacement for the Dragon spacecraft and plans to fly it for six to eight more years. However, the company’s Starship rocket faced another setback when it exploded during its May launch.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/05/musk-trump-spacex-dragon-nasa.html