Image (Credit): December 5, 2022 view of the Earth and Moon from the camera aboard NASA’s Orion Spacecraft during the Artemis I mission. (NASA)
“Two years, we went from Apollo 4, an uncrewed mission, to Apollo 11, where our astronauts were landing and walking on the moon here. Let’s not just take the idea that we should be trying to do things on a reasonable timeline means it is inherently unsafe. That’s an insult to everyone that comes to NASA and industry, and certainly the pioneers from decades past that know how this is done.”
-Statement by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in response from a question by WESH 2 news about safety versus speed. This comes the same week that NASA is seeking bids on $10 billion in new contracts for lunar cargo flights. Given the number of companies involved, it appears NASA will have the support it needs. But while the Moon missions are going well, SpaceX’s recent announcement that it is retiring its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule may put travel to the International Space Station (ISS) at risk. It will be strange if the US can get to the Moon but not the ISS.
It would be great if NASA had a number of rocket suppliers run by boring corporate types who competently provided a service and then quietly went home to their families each night. But we don’t. NASA as well as the Department of Defense have become more and more reliant on one erratic man and one company for most of its rocket needs. This is a problem.
Elon Musk does not go home each night to relax with a drink or attend charitable events. No, he spends his time interfering in foreign affairs, be it Ukraine or England, while spending hundreds of millions of dollars on US elections. Even more troublesome, he joined the current administration to systematically destroy parts of the government based on incomplete, inaccurate or fabricated data. This is a problem.
So with the recent election and the coming change in Congress, what can we expect regarding Mr. Musk and SpaceX?
The newspapers are full of potential problems that were foreseeable yet ignored or hidden by the White House.
SpaceX Starlink: The new Congress is likely to open investigations on Mr. Musk’s involvement in the degradation of Starlink services shortly after President Trump announced plans to import Russian fuel while also telling Ukraine to cease the destruction of energy facilities in Russia – a country that continues to randomly murder Ukranian civilians.
As Silicon Valley’s elected members in Congress, we represent hundreds of innovation economy employers and workers whose livelihoods depend on the credibility of American technology abroad..Politically motivated service interruptions or erratic throttling will undermine reputations developed through decades of work that Americans have led to support our allies and customers throughout the world.
An October article in TheEconomist made it clear that Europe needed to move away from Starlink and Mr. Musk a well, stating:
Recent days have made clear the folly of relying too much for your national security on a capricious private citizen named Elon Musk.
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): The destruction of various government offices and services by DOGE, particularly the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as the potential misuse of private government data, will also be the subject of congressional investigations. Government audits have already determined DOGE activities were poorly documented and its findings overstated.
The DOGE chickens are coming home to roost. Elon Musk waved a chainsaw on stage and laughed while firing public servants and gutting the services Americans rely on. Then he lied to the American people about the savings. He must answer for it under oath.
SpaceX Rockets: Many on the Hill will question the risks associated with the government’s reliance on a single rocket company run by an individual with questionable ties to Russia’s President Putin. Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich has also called for the nationalization of SpaceX – an unlikely event, but an indication of the current mood among some Democrats.
Greater scrutiny of SpaceX’s government contracts were called for In the same letter noted above, with the Democratic Congressmen stated:
We will ensure that the 120th Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk’s businesses, including whether these companies meet their contractual obligations, and whether adequate safeguards exist against political interference, arbitrary service restrictions, and misuse of federal resources.
Mr. Musk also shot himself in the foot by spending over $45 million on the recent Texas US Senate race only to see his candidate lose, in part because of the backlash against Musk’s excessive involvement. This lost race, as well as the election of a Democratic governor, is not good news for Texas-based SpaceX.
None of this will go away under the new Congress, and if the past is any guide, Mr. Musk’s attempts to try to make it go away will only make it worse for him and for the rest of us.
Note: I have seen various accounts regarding the amount that Mr. Musk spent on the election. According to Scripps New, the amount is estimated at about $474 million nationwide, with about $224 million targeted at Texas alone. Of that $224 million, at least $158 million was given to the Senate Republican super PAC.
“Every piece of this mission in Earth orbit is designed to reduce risk before we put astronauts back on the Moon…We’re launching three spacecraft on three different rockets and testing how they operate together — something NASA has never attempted. Every lesson we learn here gets us closer to landing on the Moon in 2028.”
–Statement by Jeremy Parsons, NASA’s Artemis program manager, regarding a planned 14-day test in 2027 of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, SpaceX’s Starship, and NASA’s Orion capsule using three different rockets (Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX’s Starship, and NASA’s Space Launch System). See the NASA image above to understand the complexity of what is planned. You can also find more information about the mission here.
“Well, I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon, and from what I understand, it’s the same as it’s always been.”
–Statement by President Trump after being asked about interference with the Starlink system used by the Ukrainians to defend their country against Russian attacks. Elon Musk and the US Government operate the Starlink and Starshield systems, respectively, over Ukraine. The New Republic is now reporting that Mr. Musk approached President Trump about “slowing down” the satellite service while the White House touts a false ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for the purpose of obtaining Russian diesel fuel to replace fuel lost as a result of the war with Iran. The planned deal between Russia and the US would violate US law while also harming Ukraine. The White House is blaming Ukraine for attacking Russian energy assets while saying nothing about how Russia continues to violate international law as well as a treaty between Ukraine, the US, and Russia. Mr. Musk should probably figure this out quickly since the Ukrainian uncertainty is already impacting SpaceX stock, the only thing he seems to care about these days.
Image (Credit): The SpaceX Dragon, with its nose cone open and carrying four Crew-13 members, approaches the International Space Station for a docking yesterday evening. (NASA)
A new ISS crew was launched from Cape Canaveral at 11:10 a.m. EDT Thursday, October 1, 2026 . Crew-13, consisting of NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. The ride to the space station was scheduled to be about 8 hours. The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the crew safely docked with the ISS at 9:19 p.m. EDT.
The new crew will replace Crew‑12 consisting of NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. These four crew members will be returning to Earth as soon as Monday, weather permitting.
Image (Credit): From left to right, Crew-13 NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. (NASA)
