The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are seen ahead of a launch at Launch Complex 39A at the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 14, 2025 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Elon Musk on Thursday said that his company SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft “immediately” because of threats by President Donald Trump to cancel government contracts with Musk’s businesses.
Musk’s announcement, on his social media site X, came amid an escalating war of words with Trump that began after the Tesla CEO criticized the major tax bill being pushed by the Republican president.
“In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” Musk wrote.
Dragon is the only U.S. option for delivering crew to and from the International Space Station.
A Dragon capsule brought NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth in March after the pair were stranded for months at the ISS by a Boeing Starliner capsule.
More recently, a Dragon craft delivered 6,700 pounds of crew supplies, science investigations, and equipment to the ISS on April 22.
There are seven people aboard the ISS currently on a mission being led by Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin. Three NASA astronauts are part of the crew.
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens, in a tweet after Musk’s announcement, wrote, “NASA will continue to execute upon the President’s vision for the future of space.”
“We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President’s objectives in space are met,” Stevens wrote.
SpaceX is one of the biggest federal contractors. Since 2008, SpaceX has received more than $20 billion in contracts from NASA, the Air Force and other agencies.
According to SpaceX’s website, “The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond.”
“It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station,” the company says.
SpaceX has been developing a replacement for Dragon.
In November, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company would be flying Dragon for six to eight more years.
The company is currently testing its Starship rocket, which exploded for the third time in its May launch.
