By Atoyebi Nike
Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX will begin phasing out its Dragon series spacecraft, citing tensions with former U.S. President Donald Trump. The decision comes after Trump threatened to end the company’s federal contracts, deepening a growing public feud between the two figures.
Musk made the announcement via a post on X (formerly Twitter), declaring that the spacecraft decommissioning would start “immediately” in response to the former president’s comments. The rift ends a political partnership that had lasted nearly a year, now marked by a barrage of online jabs between the two.
The Crew Dragon capsule, operational since 2020, is currently the only American-built spacecraft certified to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Developed under a NASA agreement worth over $4.9 billion, it has been central to U.S. spaceflight operations since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011. SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon is similarly used for delivering supplies to the ISS.
NASA, responding to the announcement, affirmed its adherence to the Biden administration’s space agenda. “We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President’s objectives in space are met,” agency spokeswoman Bethany Stevens posted on X.
NASA has long planned to expand its launch capabilities, but efforts to certify Boeing’s Starliner capsule for human travel have stalled due to repeated technical setbacks. Its latest mission failed mid-flight due to propulsion issues, requiring SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to retrieve the stranded astronauts.
The 2020 approval of Crew Dragon ended nearly a decade of U.S. dependence on Russia’s Soyuz program. Despite rising political tensions, a seat-swapping agreement between U.S. and Russian agencies remains in place for continued mutual access to the ISS.
Beyond government missions, Dragon has also hosted commercial trips, including the Fram2 expedition, which conducted a rare orbital journey over Earth’s polar regions.
With the Dragon fleet now facing retirement, concerns are rising over America’s ability to maintain uninterrupted human access to space.
