As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk argued on social media on Thursday, the world’s richest man threatened to decommission a space capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.
The capsule, developed with the help of government contracts, is an important part of keeping the space station running.
The Dragon capsule SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules.
Cargo versions of the Dragon capsule are also used to ferry food and other supplies to the orbiting lab.
NASA’s other option: Russia Russia’s Soyuz capsules are the only other means of getting crews to the space station right now.
During Thursday’s social media dispute between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the richest man in the world threatened to decommission a spacecraft that transports supplies and crew to the International Space Station.
Musk declared he would not carry out the threat a few hours later.
Trump threatened to revoke government contracts awarded to Musk’s Starlink internet satellite services and SpaceX rocket company. Musk responded via X that SpaceX “will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.”. “”.
In a response to another X user, Musk stated he would not carry out his threat, though it was unclear how serious it was.
An essential component of maintaining the space station’s functionality is the capsule, which was created with government contracts. Additionally, NASA depends on SpaceX for other initiatives, such as the launch of science missions and the return of astronauts to the moon later this decade.
The capsule of Dragon.
There is only one U.S. A. the company’s four-person Dragon capsules, which are currently capable of carrying crews to and from the space station.
There has only been one astronaut flight in Boeing’s Starliner capsule; the test flight last year went so poorly that the two NASA astronauts had to hitch a ride back to Earth via SpaceX in March, over nine months after the launch in June.
NASA is still debating whether to proceed with another cargo test flight instead of a crew, so Starliner is still grounded.
Additionally, SpaceX uses a Dragon capsule for its own private missions. Next week, the next one of those is scheduled to take off on a trip organized by the Houston-based company Axiom Space.
Transporting food and other supplies to the orbiting lab is another use for cargo versions of the Dragon capsule.
NASA’s alternative is Russia.
The sole alternative for currently transporting crews to the space station is Russia’s Soyuz capsules.
Three people at a time can fit inside the Soyuz capsules. Currently, one Russian is on board each SpaceX launch under a barter system, and each Soyuz launch carries two Russians and one NASA astronaut. In this manner, someone from the United States will always be available in case of an emergency requiring a capsule to return. A. along with Russia.
NASA was able to lessen its dependency on Russia for crew transport when SpaceX launched its first crew for the agency in 2020, which was the first orbital flight of a crew by a private company. The United States had been paying for the Russian flights. A. For years, each seat would cost tens of millions of dollars.
In addition to U.S. spacecraft, NASA has also utilized Russian spacecraft for cargo. A. Northrup Grumman, the contractor.
Additional government launches by SpaceX.
The business has launched military hardware and a number of science missions for NASA using its rockets.
A NASA contract to assist in removing the space station from orbit when it is no longer functional was also awarded to SpaceX last year.
NASA has chosen SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket to transport humans from lunar orbit to the moon’s surface, at least for the initial two landing missions. Last week, the Starship made its ninth test flight from Texas before crashing and disintegrating.
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