NASA Has Reached Out To SpaceX's Competitors Over Musk's Threats

The company was considered the only possible contractor for Trump's Gold Dome project.

Representatives of the U.S. National Aerospace Agency (NASA) and the Pentagon have asked SpaceX Ilon Musk's competitors to speed up the development of rockets and spacecraft after the billionaire threatened to decommission Crew Dragon spacecraft, The Washington Post reported on Saturday, June 7. This is how Musk responded during a public altercation with U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House chief's desire to strip him of government contracts; the entrepreneur later dropped his plans.

WP sources said that at least three companies - Rocket Lab, Stoke Space and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin - have received requests from NASA, while Sierra Space representatives have already met with agency officials and said they are ready to "provide uninterrupted support" for the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX is a monopoly in the US space market

An official at NASA told the publication that at first it was "entertaining" to watch the squabble between Trump and Musk on social media. But once the billionaire called for Crew Dragon to be decommissioned, "it got really scary." "When you realize that he's willing to shut everything down just on impulse, that kind of behavior and dependence on it is dangerous. (...) I can tell you that NASA is deeply concerned," he shared with WP.

Aerospace company SpaceX is the holder of multi-billion dollar government contracts and is considered a monopoly in the US space market. It delivers people and cargo to the ISS, develops satellites for the Pentagon and intelligence agencies. Given the fact that SpaceX has experience in operating its own global satellite communications system Starlink, the company was considered the only possible contractor for Trump's Golden Dome project - a missile defense shield that should protect the US from external threats with the help of satellites in orbit.

Experts: Trump and Musk's threats will be difficult to materialize

Government procurement experts note that if Donald Trump and Ilon Musk's mutual threats are materialized, both sides would face serious financial penalties, and SpaceX would also risk losing all future contracts. In addition, the termination of government contracts with Musk's company will become a threat to the national security of the United States, writes Newsweek magazine. In particular, NASA will have to turn to Russia more often to deliver its astronauts to the ISS.

It is noteworthy that even before the quarrel in social networks over the bill on tax breaks and tariff policy, the opinions of Musk and Trump diverged in connection with personnel policy in NASA. Then the head of the White House refused to appoint astronaut Jared Isaacman, close to the businessman, as head of the agency.

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