Elon Musk goes on a tirade
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The SpaceX CEO took shots at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as Duffy and Jared Isaacman position themselves to lead the space agency.
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy and billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday traded barbs online over who should lead the space agency, a day after Duffy invited companies to compete with Musk’s SpaceX for a moon landing mission.
Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said the agency will open up the Artemis 3 contract to other spaceflight companies because SpaceX has fallen behind schedule.
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NASA threatens to pull SpaceX's Artemis III contract, re-open competition
Transportation Secretary and acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy says SpaceX is falling behind on Artemis III, so they could lose a contract.
SpaceX signed the nearly $3 billion government contract in 2021. It helped solidify the fledgling company as a powerhouse in space travel as the country with the most advanced space program gave it the stamp of approval. Since then, SpaceX’s valuation has ballooned from $100 billion to reports of over $400 billion.
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See photos of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket liftoff Oct. 19 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
The Falcon 9 took flight at 1:39 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, from Launch Complex 40 en route to deploying 28 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.
China aims to put its astronauts on the moon by 2030. For NASA to get back there first, it needs SpaceX to quickly complete its Starship rocket — but it faces major hurdles.