About the author Sports-lover turned journalist, born and bred in Scotland, with a passion for football (soccer). He’s also a keen follower of NFL, NBA, golf and tennis, among others, and always has an eye on the latest in science, tech and current affairs. As Managing Editor at AS USA, uses background in operations and marketing to drive improvements for reader satisfaction. Update: Jun 10th, 2025 12:12 EDT NASA’s dependency on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has never looked more fragile than it does now. And it’s not because of a technical failure or a lost mission – but because of a political spat that’s spilled over into threats, delays, and, it would seem, a surprising lack of contingency planning. Why did Musk make Dragon threat? The trouble began when Musk took exception to former President Donald Trump’s push for a sweeping new spending bill. Critics, including Musk, warned that the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” would balloon federal costs. Trump, never one to let a feud idle, responded by publicly threatening to terminate SpaceX’s government contracts – contracts that include some of NASA’s most critical spaceflight operations. Musk, ever quick to react, didn’t hesitate. In a since-modified post on X (formerly Twitter), he said SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon fleet immediately. The post sent tremors through a spaceflight community already on edge. Though Musk walked back the statement, the episode made one thing clear: NASA’s reliance on SpaceX is not just a technical gamble, but now a political one too. Good advice.