Musk backs down, says he will sustain Crew Dragon program, key to aerospace security
After the fight with Trump, the tycoon had said he would suspend the only U.S. operational spacecraft that carries humans into space. Hours later, an X user changed his mind.
Launch in Texas/ Sergio Flores.
Now that things have publicly exploded between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the tycoon stated that he will withdraw a key program for U.S. aerospace security. It is the Crew Dragon spacecraft, manufactured by SpaceX and currently the only operational U.S. spacecraft carrying humans into space. However, he changed his mind thanks to a comment from a follower of en X.
Shortly after the public attacks began, the president suggested on Truth Social that he should cancel government contracts for Musk's companies: "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!"
Faced with this situation, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) responded to him on his X account. "In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately," he wrote. In other words, he said he would retire the spacecraft that keeps the country in orbit.
If he follows through on his post, the United States would be left without its own vehicle to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), making it dependent again on Russia's Roscosmos. Failing that, it could also seek solutions with Boeing.
The tension remained until Monday night, when a follower responded to Musk's post with this comment, “Shame on this back and forth. You're both better than this. Calm down and take a step back for a couple of days.”
Unexpectedly, the social network owner was responsive and announced he would backtrack. “Good advice. Ok, we're not going to decommission Dragon,” he replied.
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