SpaceX's future in jeopardy amid Elon Musk-Donald Trump feud explodes with threats of cutting contracts

The feud betwixt billionaire Elon Musk and US chair Donald ruff tin top to dramatic fallouts for about $22 billion worth of SpaceX's government contracts and multiple US space programmes. 

The disagreement between them is rooted in Musk's criticism of Trump's tax-cut and spending legislation that began last week, quickly spiraled out of control. Trump lashed out at Musk when the president spoke in the Oval Office. In a series of X posts, Musk launched barbs at Trump, who threatened to terminate government contracts with Musk's companies.

Taking the threat seriously, Musk said he would begin "decommissioning" SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft used by NASA. It is the only US vessel capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station, making Musk's company a critical element of the US space programme. 

Taking Dragon out of service would likely disrupt the ISS programme, which involves dozens of countries under a two-decade-old international agreement. But it was unclear how quickly such a decommissioning would occur. NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens declined to comment on SpaceX, but said: “We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met.”

SpaceX rose to dominance long before Musk's foray into Republican politics last year, building a formidable market share that could shield it somewhat from Musk's split with Trump, analysts said. "It fortunately wouldn't be catastrophic, since SpaceX has developed itself into a global powerhouse, but there's no question that it would result in significant lost revenue and missed contract opportunities," said Justus Parmar, CEO of SpaceX investor Fortuna Investments.

Under Trump in recent months, the US space industry and NASA's workforce of 18,000 have seen looming layoffs and proposed budget cuts that would cancel dozens of science programs, while the U.S. Space agency remains without a confirmed administrator. Musk's quest to send humans to Mars has been a critical element of Trump's space agenda. The effort has threatened to take resources away from NASA's flagship effort to send humans back to the moon.

Trump's budget plan sought to cancel Artemis moon missions beyond its third mission. But the Senate Commerce Committee version of Trump's bill released late on Thursday would restore funding for missions four and five, providing at least $1 billion annually for SLS through 2029. Since SpaceX's rockets are a less expensive alternative to SLS, whether the Trump administration opposes the Senate's changes in the coming weeks will give an indication of Musk's remaining political power.
(With Inputs from Reuters)

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