Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has threatened to decommission his company’s Dragon spacecraft, leaving NASA vulnerable in its space program. The move would have significant implications for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent base on the moon and eventually send humans to Mars.
SpaceX has been a key partner in NASA’s cargo and crew missions, with various Dragon spacecraft carrying cargo and crew to the International Space Station (ISS) since 2012. The company is also playing a crucial role in the Artemis program, which seeks to send astronauts back to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.
If Musk were to decommission the Dragon spacecraft, it would leave NASA with limited options for transporting crew and cargo to space. SpaceX’s competitor, Boeing, has been working on its own Starliner spacecraft, but it has struggled to meet NASA’s requirements. The company’s initial launch attempt failed, and subsequent attempts have been delayed.
NASA and SpaceX’s relationship began in 2008 when the federal space agency launched the Commercial Resupply Services program to deliver cargo and supplies to the ISS on commercially operated spacecraft. The agency signed a contract with SpaceX, awarding the company 12 flights valued at about $1.6 billion.
Experts warn that if Musk were to decommission the Dragon spacecraft, it would leave the United States vulnerable in its space program. Moriba Jah, a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin, said that the country has uniquely relied on SpaceX for a sovereign vehicle to get people into and out of space.
“If Dragon goes away and then it’s just Blue Origin, we would have to put more funding resources not just into trying to get Blue Origin to launch sooner, but also in being able to test all those technologies in ways that they haven’t been tested yet,” Jah said.
The impact of Musk’s threat would be felt across the space industry, with implications for NASA’s Artemis program and the country’s ability to establish a permanent presence in space. As one expert noted, “Right now, the only U.S. provider [for crew] is SpaceX, and so not having SpaceX would be a big deal.”
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/elon-musk-threatened-decommission-dragon-spacecraft-nasa/story?id=122568163