SpaceX CEO Ilon Musk announced the start of the Dragon -Manned Ship Program, which are a key element of the US space program to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). This decision was the result of a public conflict with US President Donald Trump, which threatened to stop government contracts with a mask company.
Musk stated, that in light of the President's words regarding the possible cancellation of government contracts, the company immediately begins the process of decommissioning the Dragon ships. These vehicles are currently the only American spacecraft, certified to transport the crew into orbit within the framework of the contract with NASA at a cost of more than $4,9 billion.
Against the background of this statement, the press secretary of NASA reported, that the agency will continue to implement the presidential administration's space strategy and work with industry partners to achieve its goals in space.
The Crew Dragon program became critical for the US after that, Like in 2020 almost ten years of dependence on the Russian "Soyuz" in the delivery of American astronauts to the ISS ended. Since then, SpaceX ships have also carried out cargo missions and private flights, in particular tourist missions, such as Fram2.
Crew Dragon's next launch is scheduled for Tuesday: astronauts from India will go to the ISS as part of the Axiom-4 mission, Poland and Hungary.