Featured Image Credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images/Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Space, Nasa
Mia Williams
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Space, Nasa
Elon Musk has threatened to halt NASA's use of his Dragon capsule which transports astronauts to the International Space Station, which could leave the US in a very sticky situation.
It's safe to say that Musk and Trump would no longer consider each other friends, despite the president just months ago bringing the tech mogul in to head up his Department of Government Efficiency.
The spat comes after Musk's public disapproval of the republican leader's 'Big Beautiful Bill', which he branded a 'disgusting abomination'.
The bill, more than 1,000 pages long, includes extended tax cuts for American citizens, added requirements for federal benefits eligibility, an increase to the national debt ceiling and more.
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Trump also threatened to cut government contracts given to Musk's SpaceX rocket company, which prompted his latest move.
Taking to Twitter, Musk wrote: "In light of the president's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately."
And while the US is pretty self-sufficient, there is one thing it relies on the tech mogul for - and that's SpaceX.
Musk founded the company in 2002, and has since launched the Dragon capsule.
The speciality contraption has been solely responsible for taking astronauts to and from the NASA space station, taking up to four people per trip.
But Musk has threatened to 'decommission' its use, leaving Trump with only one option.
Russia’s 'Soyuz' capsules are the only other means of getting crews to the space station right now.
However, it was just last year that Russia formerly declared the US as an 'enemy'.
The Soyuz capsule is able to take three people to the space station per trip, and usually carries two Russians and one NASA astronaut.
With the introduction of the Dragon capsule, NASA was able to reduce its reliance on Russia for transporting its crew - a trip that was costing the US tens of million per seat, for many years.
Another possible capsule is Boeing’s Starliner, but a test flight last year didn't exactly go to plan.
Two NASA astronauts were left stranded, and were brought back safely to earth via SpaceX in March, after spending nine months at the space station.
While NASA works out whether to go ahead with another test flight, with cargo instead of crew, the Starliner remains grounded.
But it's not the only mission that NASA relies heavily on SpaceX for - it also launches new science missions.
Towards the end of the decade, they also plan to return astronauts to the moon.