SpaceX will decommission Dragon spacecraft, Musk says as feud with Trump escalates
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Elon Musk and a SpaceX logo are seen in this illustration taken January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
(Reuters) -Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately, the billionaire said on Thursday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that the government should cancel Musk's federal contracts.
NASA relies on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station under a contract worth roughly $4.9 billion. The capsule is the only U.S. spacecraft capable of flying humans in orbit.
Musk's statement marks a dramatic escalation in an intensifying fight with Trump that burst into public view this week, when Musk opposed the Trump administration's linchpin spending bill.
Taking Dragon out of service would disrupt the ISS program, which involves dozens of countries under an international agreement signed over two decades ago. Russia's Soyuz system is the only other crewed spacecraft that sends astronauts to the ISS.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and David Gregorio)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Sailing-SailGP roars back into action in New York after Rio cancellation
FILE PHOTO: SailGP F50 team Canada competes in front of the Statue of Liberty after the start of the finals race during the SailGP sailboat racing event won by team New Zealand in New York Harbor, New York City, U.S. June 23, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -SailGP teams will shake off the rust in New York this weekend, as the global racing championship gets back into action after a wingsail defect forced a brief hiatus with the cancellation of May's Rio event. Organisers identified the defect after the Australian boat's wing collapsed in San Francisco in March and carried out repair and upgrade work to remedy the issue on the F50 fleet in time for the highly anticipated New York competition. "We had almost two months of learning to take from the previous events," said Brazil's twice Olympic champion Martine Grael, SailGP's first-ever female driver. "We have a lot of changes in our sailing - there are almost too many changes and we know you can only handle a few changes at a time. We're focusing to see what we can adapt here." The recently added Brazil team hope to move up the standings from 10th as the action kicks off on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET (1700 GMT), two and a half hours earlier than planned due to inclement weather. The three-times champions Australia, who hold just a one-point advantage over Britain in the standings, want to impress after making headlines off the water, with new A-List co-owners Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds announced this week. The great equaliser between the celebrity-fronted top dogs and the up-and-comers has been the competition's tech-first approach to sailing, with each of the vessels equipped with 125 sensors continuously feeding data. "We give the data to everybody," SailGP's Chief Technology Officer Warren Jones told Reuters. "Top teams hate it, but the newer teams love it." Jones was able to build the robust analytics operation from "a blank sheet of paper" by cherry-picking from billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison's Oracle capabilities. The hope is that the data points broadcast across the competition can help transform the next generation of fans - newcomers and diehards alike. "There are the basics - you need to know how fast people are going because then it adds the jeopardy of what's going on," said Jones. "Then there's people out there who want to know how many tacks they've done and what the tack is compared to the last tack - we can rate that." (Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
French rabbi tells of two attacks in one week as hate crimes rise
PARIS (Reuters) - A French rabbi was attacked on Friday for the second time in a week, he told Reuters, reflecting a broad rise in hate crimes across France that has included high-profile anti-Semitic assaults. Elie Lemmel said he was sitting at a cafe in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine on Friday when he was hit in the head by a chair. "I found myself on the ground, I immediately felt blood flowing," he said. He was stunned and unsure what exactly had happened, he said, initially thinking something must have fallen from a window or roof, before it occurred to him he had been attacked. "Unfortunately, given my beard and my kippah, I suspected that was probably why, and it's such a shame," he said. Friday's incident follows another in the town of Deauville in Normandy last week, when Lemmel said he was punched in the stomach by an unknown assailant. Lemmel said he was used to "not-so-friendly looks, some unpleasant words, people passing by, spitting on the ground," but had never been physically assaulted before the two attacks. The prosecutor's office in Nanterre said it had opened an investigation into the Neuilly attack for aggravated violence and that a person was being held for questioning. It said it could not provide further details. "This act sickens us," former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote on X regarding Friday's incident involving Lemmel. "Antisemitism, like all forms of hatred, is a deadly poison for our society." Last week, five Jewish institutions were sprayed with green paint in Paris. "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the anti-Semitic attack that targeted a rabbi in Neuilly today. Attacking a person because of their faith is a shame. The increase in anti-religious acts requires the mobilization of everyone," Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a post on X. France has seen a rise in hate crimes. Last year, police recorded an 11% rise in racist, xenophobic or antireligious crimes, according to official data published in March. The figures did not include a breakdown by attacks on different religions. (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Antony Paone, Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
'Clash of the Titans:' allies fear fallout in Trump-Musk split
HE is almost certainly off the guest list for White House galas, but Elon Musk's astonishing spat with Donald Trump could inflict damage for both men that goes far beyond catchy headlines and an incinerated friendship. On one side, there's the US president – a man who has already shown unprecedented appetite for using the levers of power to go after opponents. On the other: the world's richest man, with a business empire entwined deep into the heart of the US economy and space industry. "Get your popcorn," Chaim Siegel, an analyst at financial services company Elazar Advisors told AFP. "I've never seen two people this big go at it this nasty in all my time in the business. Can't be good for either side." Trump allies worry that the messy breakup could have ramifications for his legacy and Republicans' election prospects, as well as damaging the administration's ties with Silicon Valley donors. Musk is also in jeopardy. Trump has threatened to scrap the tech mogul's lucrative subsidies and federal contracts, potentially devastating Tesla and risking some $22 billion of SpaceX's government income – even if it remains unclear how the US government itself would manage the fallout. The catalyst for the split was Trump's sprawling domestic policy bill, a package that Musk has complained in increasingly apocalyptic terms will swell the budget deficit, undermining the president's agenda. But the issue quickly has become extraordinarily bitter. Musk called Thursday for Trump's impeachment, implying that the Republican was linked to the crimes of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide after being charged with sex-trafficking to elite, international clients. The dust-up has rocked to the core the fragile coalition between the populists in Trump's "MAGA" movement and the Musk-friendly "tech bros" whose podcasts and cash helped secure the Republican's second term. Influential figures on the populist side hit back with calls for investigations into South African-born Musk's immigration status, security clearance and alleged drug use. Meanwhile in Congress, Republicans are calling for a ceasefire, worried that the world's richest man will use his deep pockets to exact revenge in the 2026 midterm congressional election. Trump and Musk were never obvious allies, but the flamboyant entrepreneur turned into the Republican's surprise wingman – and mega-donor – during the 2024 election. Musk ended up spending US$290 million to help the campaigns of Trump and other Republicans. He was then rewarded with overseeing the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which embarked on ruthless and, critics say, ideologically driven slashing of the State Department and other bodies. "Without me, Trump would have lost the election," Musk posted on his social platform X at the height of a dust-up that US media labelled the "Clash of the Titans." As president, Trump is arguably the most powerful person in the world. But Musk's megaphone – X – is much bigger than Trump's Truth Social and he is a prolific trash talker, instantly reaching many millions of people. Musk's portfolio of almost 100 contracts with 17 government agencies also gives him enormous power over the federal bureaucracy, including the US space programme. Trump, on the other hand, has ultimate say over those contracts. If Trump heeds his supporters' calls for investigations he could tie Musk down for years, revoking his security clearances and issuing executive orders to gum up his business. Trump, 78, may need to walk a delicate line given the risk that Musk will lobby Congress to scuttle his budget plans. Republican lawmakers – most of whom are fighting elections next year – have welcomed Musk with open arms, nodding approvingly at his calls for federal cuts and grateful for his campaign cash. But when it comes to picking sides, most Republicans who have spoken out on the spat are sticking with Trump. The president has a long history of forcing wavering lawmakers to step back into line. "Every tweet that goes out, people are more in lockstep behind President Trump, and (Musk's) losing favour," Congressman Kevin Hern told political website NOTUS. Musk, who dreams of colonising Mars, responded with a longer view of the situation. "Some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President," Musk posted, "but I will be around for 40+ years."
