SpaceX Delays Prompt Move, Musk Reacts

NASA is intent on returning astronauts to the Moon as soon as possible, and because of delays in SpaceX’s Starship Super Heavy and its Starship Lunar Landing System, the agency announced in a surprise shift it is reopening the contract for the Artemis III human lunar lander project. As would be expected, Elon Musk had a few things to say about it in defense of his company.

Secretary of Transportation and Acting NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy was on national television recently when he said, “We are in a race against China, so we need the best companies to operate at a speed that gets us to the Moon first,” alluding to President Donald Trump’s stated goal of landing humans back on the Moon before his term expires in January 2029.

Duffy added that the situation has been exacerbated by the government shutdown making 13,000-plus air traffic controllers work without pay. He said, “We’ve worked closely with President Trump to ensure the shutdown won’t slow down America’s return to the Moon. Many of NASA’s best and brightest are working without pay because of the shutdown.”

He went on to explain, “SpaceX is behind schedule with the Human Landing System,” referring to the Starship variant selected for Artemis III.

Duffy shared more on X following his tv appearance, posting, “We are in a race against China so we need the best companies to operate at a speed that gets us to the Moon FIRST.

“But, competition and innovation are the keys to our dominance in space so @NASA is opening up HLS production to Blue Origin and other great American companies.”

In what appeared to be a bit of a dig at SpaceX, he added, “I think we will see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others. We will have a space race among American companies, competing to see who can actually get us back to the Moon first.”

In addition to Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin says it’s been working on its own system and could throw its hat in the ring as well.

SpaceX also has a $2.89 billion contract to create the Starship Human Landing System, the spacecraft that will ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back during the mission.

Elon Musk was quick to react to the news from Duffy. In a post on X he said, “Blue Origin has never delivered a (useful) payload to orbit, let alone the Moon.” In another he said, “They won’t [get there faster]. SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry. Moreover, Starship will end up doing the whole Moon mission. Mark my words.”

Duffy’s announcement leaves many questions unanswered, including the timeline for the competition, proposal deadlines, and perhaps most importantly– funding.

FMI:  www.nasa.gov/