Trump vs Musk: What happens to Nasa's ISS missions if SpaceX grounds Dragon capsule? Is Russia only other option?
President-elect Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk explains the operations ahead of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boca Chica, Texas. (AP)
As US President Donald Trump and
Elon Musk
exchanged barbs on social media on Thursday, Musk said he might stop using the Dragon spacecraft, which is used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
This came after Trump said he may cancel government contracts given to Musk's companies,
SpaceX
and Starlink. Musk responded on X, saying SpaceX "will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.'
It is not clear how serious Musk was. But the Dragon spacecraft is important for keeping the ISS working.
Nasa
also depends on SpaceX for other programs, such as launching science missions and, later this decade, taking astronauts to the moon.
SpaceX and Nasa's partnership
In 2006, a company named Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, got a Nasa contract to carry cargo and supplies to the ISS. At the time, SpaceX had not launched anything into orbit. Its first successful launch happened two years later with Falcon 1.
In 2010, SpaceX launched the first Falcon 9 rocket. By 2012, it began sending cargo to the space station.
Nasa gave money to help develop the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX then used the Nasa connection to attract other clients to launch satellites using its rockets.
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During the Obama administration, SpaceX also got a contract to take astronauts to the ISS. This happened for the first time in May 2020, during President Trump's first term.
"Today the groundbreaking partnership between Nasa and SpaceX has given our nation the gift of an unmatched power a state-of-the-art spaceship to put our astronauts into orbit at a fraction of the cost of the space shuttle," Trump said in a speech at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020, after that flight.
He also praised Musk in the same event.
As SpaceX made progress, other companies faced difficulties. Today, SpaceX is the main company handling both US civilian and military space activities.
The US government now depends a lot on SpaceX. Musk started the company in 2002 with the goal of one day sending people to Mars. For now, the company is the only option the U.S. has to send people and equipment to space.
Impact of decommissioning Dragon
SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsules are used to take astronauts and cargo to the ISS for Nasa.
If Musk follows through on his statement about decommissioning, it could affect the future of the space station.
Later in the day, Musk seemed to take back the threat. But if he had followed through, SpaceX would likely bring back the Crew Dragon that is already docked at the space station, along with the four astronauts who plan to return in it.
However, there would be no way to send the next group of astronauts to the ISS.
Dragon capsule
Right now, SpaceX is the only US company that can take crews to and from the ISS, using the Dragon capsule, which can carry four people.
Another US company, Boeing, has a capsule called Starliner. But it has flown astronauts only once. That test flight had problems, and the two Nasa astronauts had to return to Earth using SpaceX in March. That was more than nine months after they launched last June.
Starliner is still not ready to fly again.
Nasa is deciding whether to do another test flight with cargo instead of a crew.
SpaceX also uses Dragon capsules for its own private missions. The next such mission, managed by Axiom Space, is expected to launch next week.
Cargo versions of Dragon are also used to carry food and other supplies to the ISS.
Russia's Soyuz: The only other option
The only other way to send crews to the ISS is using Russia's Soyuz capsules. Each Soyuz can carry three people. Usually, each Soyuz trip includes two Russians and one Nasa astronaut.
Each SpaceX trip includes one Russian under a mutual agreement. This setup ensures that in an emergency, both US and Russian crew members have a way to return.
When SpaceX started sending crews for Nasa in 2020, it reduced Nasa's dependence on Russia. Earlier, Nasa had to pay Russia tens of millions of dollars per seat.
For cargo, Nasa also works with Russian spacecraft and a US company called Northrop Grumman.
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