SpaceX-ISS Showdown: Trump-Musk Ruckus Erupts Over Astronaut Transport
Space race tension intensifies: Musk declares discontinuation of spacecraft collaboration with Trump - Escalating Feud intensifies: Musk declares abandonment of spacecraft collaboration with Trump
Get ready to hold onto your space helmets, folks! The tech world's Blake and Gatsby, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, are throwing punches once more. Musk, the eccentric engineering genius, has threatened to pull the Dragon spacecraft out of service, leaving the International Space Station (ISS) in a potentially tricky situation.
Musk announced on the microblogging platform X that SpaceX, his sprawling space company, would immediately start the Dragon decommissioning process. This sudden move follows Trump's aggressive statement threatening to yank government contracts from Musk's businesses, with the billionaire bemoaning the president's apparent change of heart.
The Dragon, as you may know, is the lone US spacecraft able to jetpack NASA astronauts to the ISS. The contract with SpaceX totals around $5 billion (around €4.4 billion). Meanwhile, the Cargo Dragon zips supplies to the space station like a cosmic postman.
The Trump-Musk Rift: A Friendship Gone Sour
The former presidential BFFs have transitioned from amicable allies to bitter rivals. Musk has taken Trump to task over a controversial tax policy, arguing that it could swell the national debt significantly. Last Thursday, Trump fired back, branding Musk "crazy" and warning him about the repercussions of his outspokenness.
Aside from SpaceX, Musk sits at the helm of Tesla, the renowned electric car manufacturer. Trump had previously appointed Musk to spearhead personnel and budget cuts across various government departments and agencies. Musk's abrasive tactics and combative demeanor have left him with a veritable swarm of adversaries, and he's recently been the target of criticism from many within Trump's own party.
Musk's Epstein Allegation
In a twist that's stranger than The Twilight Zone, Musk also leveled accusations against Trump by pointing to the Jeffrey Epstein case. In a post on X, Musk claimed that Trump appears in the "Epstein files," which intensified calls for the release of court documents pertaining to the late Epstein's case. Epstein, an influential investor with connections to prominent figures worldwide, was suspected of sexually abusing and trafficking minor girls and young women for years.
Trump and Epstein were acquainted, but there's no publicly available definitive proof linking Trump to Epstein's alleged misdeeds.
Key Players:
- Elon Musk
- Donald Trump
- SpaceX
- ISS
- Jeffrey Epstein
- Even amidst the SpaceX-ISS showdown, Elon Musk, the SpaceX founder, has taken jabs at President Donald Trump over a contentious tax policy, exacerbating the growing rift between the former allies.
- In the realms of science, technology, and politics, Elon Musk, who leads SpaceX and Tesla, has found himself amidst controversy, having accused Donald Trump of being linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
- Despite the public dispute with President Trump, Elon Musk's SpaceX remains an essential player in space-and-astronomy, with the Dragon spacecraft ensuring astronaut transport to the International Space Station (ISS), an integral focal point in the general-news realm.
