Nasa looks to other companies for US moon program as Musk’s SpaceX lags behind | Nasa
NASA is seeking contracts with other companies for its crewed lunar program as Elon Musk’s SpaceX is “behind” schedule, the space agency said Monday.
In an interview with CNBC, Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation and acting head of NASA, said the agency was “not going to wait for one company” to pursue its Artemis program to send astronauts to the Moon.
“SpaceX had the contract for Artemis III,” Duffy said, referring to the agency’s planned crewed lunar mission. “By the way, I love SpaceX, it’s an incredible company. The problem is they’re late. They’ve pushed back their deadlines and we’re in a race against China.”
“The president and I want to go to the Moon during this president’s term, so I’m going to open the contracts,” he added.
“I will let other space companies compete with SpaceX, like Blue Origin.”
NASA’s program stems from Donald Trump’s first term, when he ordered NASA to launch new efforts to get humans to the Moon. The last crewed lunar mission was the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
In 2021, NASA announced a $2.89 billion contract with Musk’s SpaceX to develop a landing system, using the company’s Starship Landing System, that will transport humans to the orbit and surface of the Moon. While NASA also works with other commercial companies, including Blue Origins – owned by Jeff Bezos – and defense companies Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper for other components of the project, SpaceX plays a key role as the company building the actual landing system.
Last December, NASA announced delays to two planned missions, the upcoming Artemis mission, which would take astronauts around the Moon, scheduled for April 2026 and an actual moon landing pushed back to mid-2027.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket has suffered several failed launches over the past two years since its first test in 2023.
Musk, who still serves as the company’s CEO, was a close ally of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign and actively participated in the Trump administration as head of the “Department of Government Effectiveness” (Doge).
But relations between Musk and Trump have cooled over disagreements over the tax and spending bill that Trump and congressional Republicans passed earlier this year, which Musk called “completely insane and destructive.” Musk then accused Trump of being named in the “Epstein files.”
In June, the White House abruptly withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut close to Musk, to head NASA. Instead, Duffy, who had already been confirmed as transportation secretary, was named acting head of the independent agency.
Duffy said Monday that NASA is pushing back the schedule for its next Artemis mission from April 2026 to February 2026.
“We’re going to get things done and win the second space race against the Chinese,” Duffy said. “Go back to the moon, set up a camp, a base.”
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