Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Space Launch Caught In Musk-Trump Feud?
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Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is scheduled to travel to the ISS onboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft this month. The Trump-Musk online spat has raised concerns over the mission.
Amid ugly public spat with US President Donald Trump after his exit from the administration, Elon Musk raised concerns across the globe with his massive announcement that SpaceX would decommission the Dragon spacecraft — a decision which he shortly walked back on.
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is among those who are scheduled to travel to the International Space Station this month on board SpaceX's Dragon capsule.
The Trump-Musk bromance officially came to an end after the duo engaged in a heated exchange in the open, on social media, after the Tesla CEO important spending bill supported by the administration, calling it a 'disaster." Reacting to it, Trump said that the US could save billions of dollars by slashing Musk's government contracts and questioned why it had not been done already.
'In light of the President's statement about the cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately," Musk made to the announcement on X, the social media platform he owns.
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
Notably, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is slated to be launched in SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the International Space Station on June 8 for 14 days with the Axiom-4 mission.
he rolled back his decision.
Good advice.Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2025
The possible shutdown of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft could seriously impact the International Space Station's operations, leaving Russia's Soyuz as the only crewed transport option. This would limit crew rotations and international access to space. Over $22 billion in contracts between SpaceX, NASA, and the Pentagon—including lunar Starship development and military satellite launches — could be at risk. Scientific missions like Axiom Space's Ax-4 may face major delays. The loss of Dragon would affect not only logistics but also the strategic, scientific, and geopolitical stability of human spaceflight programs.
Will Ax-4 Mission Be Impacted?
Even though Trump and Musk remain at loggerheads, Axiom Space has not announced any changes as of now. As Musk has decided to step back, the Ax-4 mission likely remains on schedule.
India's Shubhanshu Shukla is among other astronauts who are in quarantine as per the protocol. The Dragon spacecraft, which will take them to the IS,S has already arrived at the Kennedy Space Center launch pad.
Shukla is India's second astronaut and the first to travel to the ISS.
In a press briefing, a NASA official said that there were budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration and underlined the possibility of smaller private missions to the Space Station; however, assured that the upcoming Ax-4 mission would not be hit.
First Published:
June 06, 2025, 11:20 IST
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