Musk against Trump: Is the end of SpaceX's ISS flights?

Musk against Trump: Is the end of SpaceX's ISS flights?

Gulf of Mexico, Florida, USA - Elon Musk has announced that the Dragon capsule of SpaceX is out of operation, which not only affects the care of the International Space Station (ISS), but also heats up political tension between him and US President Donald Trump. According to t-online.de could have a significant impact on the US space ride, in particular indicates that the termination of government contracts with Musk could save billions.

SpaceX plays a central role for the USA by bringing astronauts into space. The Dragon capsule is currently the only US spaceship that the ISS has regularly reached after the USA had been dependent on Russian spaceships for several years during the end of the Space shuttle program. Trumps and Musk's Streit also focuses on a tax and budgetary law funded by the President, whereby Musk is increasingly demanding expenses.

technical problems and delayed return

An equally sensitive topic are the technical problems of the Starliner spaceship developed by Boeing. This suffers from delays that affect the return of astronauts, in particular on Sununi Williams and Butch Wilmore who went on board a Starliner to carry out test flights to the ISS. In an interview with Sean Hannity, Musk and Trump mistakenly expressed that the astronauts were "left in space". NASA decisively contradicts this presentation and explains that the return is extensively planned. Williams and Wilmore have been in space since June 4, 2022 and their return was systematically delayed due to complications with the Starliner drive. NASA has also assured that the Starliner can serve as an emergency capsule if there are any problems, and they announced to bring the astronauts back with a SpaceX crew 9 mission in February 2023 Space.com is explained .

Despite all the explanations on the part of NASA and the astronauts involved, the impression that Musk and Trump continue to spread the "beached" narrative. NASA administrator Bill Nelson focused on security and transparency at the center of the decision-making process in order to eliminate the confusion caused by the excessive claims.

The role of SpaceX in the US space ride

SpaceX not only achieved significant success through the Dragon capsule, but also recently caused a sensation with the crew 8 mission. The start took place on September 28, 2024, and the capsule is to end up in the Gulf of Mexico on October 25, 2024. The crew spent 236 days in space and carried out various tasks at the ISS. SpaceX is therefore still seen as a key player in the field of American space travel, especially in times when Boeing has to deal with setbacks As explained on the NASA website .

The course of these events raises questions about the long -term dependency of the USA on a single space company. Critics warn that this dependence in times of political and technical uncertainties could be problematic, while the discussion about leadership styles and political strategies is still in space.