What is the Dragon spacecraft? SpaceX project in the middle of the Musk-Trump drama
Elon Musk has thrown the future of a SpaceX project, the Dragon spacecraft, into doubt after floating, but then retracting, the idea of decommissioning the project.
The billionaire is currently in the midst of a public fallout with US President Donald Trump, who had threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk's businsesses, sparking Musk to bite back on the social media platform X.
'In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,' Musk posted on X, with a screenshot of Trump's threat on Truth Social attached.
In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately pic.twitter.com/NG9sijjkgW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' the president had written. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!'
Following advice from a follower for both Musk and Trump to 'cool down', the SpaceX owner replied: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.'
Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2025
That's likely good news for both SpaceX's wallets and NASA's operations, with more than $20bn worth of government contracts, largely from NASA and the Department of Defense, going towards Musk's company since 2008.
Here's a closer look at the Dragon spacecraft and its purpose at NASA.
NASA uses the Dragon to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), with it perhaps most famously being used to return stranded NASA astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita Williams safely to Earth.
This was after their Boeing Starliner capsule left without them in the midst of technical issues.
Another SpaceX Dragon launch is due for June 10, with plans to ferry four people to and from the ISS on Axiom Mission 4.
NASA will continue to execute upon the President's vision for the future of space. We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President's objectives in space are met.
— Bethany Stevens (@NASASpox) June 5, 2025
NASA doesn't appear to be concerned about the discussions between Musk and Trump, with press secretary Bethany Stevens making a statement on X that reads: 'NASA will continue to execute upon the President's vision for the future of space. We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President's objectives in space are met.'
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