The increasing tension between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk can now affect the space program. In the midst of this political battle, Elon Musk announced that his company Spacex will now start closing its ‘Dragon’ spacecraft. Musk wrote on X that with immediate effect we are shutting down the ‘Dragon Program’. Now SpaceX will not run any system on the mercy of politics.
How did the dispute begin?
The statement came after Trump’s post in which he said that the easiest way to save billions of dollars from our budget is to eliminate the government subsidy and contracts of Elon. I always wondered why Biden did not do this. Trump attacked Musk, describing Musk as very disappointing, especially when Musk strongly opposed the government’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which he described as policy destruction and deficit.
Elon Musk was also appointed as Chief of the ‘Government Efficiency Department’ (DOGE) created by the Trump government some time ago, but resigned only 130 days later.
Importance of dragon spacecraft
The Dragon Spacecraft is the only vehicle in the US to carry and bring astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). It has been in the service of NASA since 2020 and under this, Spacex has got a contract of about $ 5 billion. According to Reuters reports, SpaceX has so far received NASA contracts of more than $ 15 billion, including Starship Development for Science Mission, Rocket Launch and Moon Mission.
Impact on defense and spy missions
SpaceX is important not only for NASA, but also for the US Department of Defense. The company is creating a large network of detective satellite for the US intelligence agency and launchs rockets for national security missions. If the dragon program is closed, the ISS mission may be interrupted, as it is an international project, including dozens of countries. However, it is not clear yet how soon SpaceX will remove this vehicle from service.
Strong pair broke
Elon Musk and Trump were considered close partners at a time. Musk contributed more than $ 250 million to Trump’s election campaign and was one of the major supporters of Trump in the technical field. Now the same relationship has turned into bitterness, Mask is openly attacking the policies and decisions of Trump, while Trump has called Musk as a fraud.