(Washington) SpaceX boss Elon Musk attacked the acting administrator of NASA head-on on Tuesday after the latter raised on Monday the possibility of doing without his company to return to the Moon.
“Sean the Goon is trying to kill NASA!” “, launched the multi-billionaire on his social network
The day before, Mr. Duffy had announced on the Fox News channel that he was going to relaunch calls for tenders for the Artemis 3 lunar mission which plans the return of Americans to the Moon, citing the delays taken by SpaceX in the development of its Starship megarocket.
“I love SpaceX. It’s an incredible company. The problem is that they are late. They pushed back their deadlines and we are in competition with China,” he explained.
The move followed growing criticism from experts warning that Starship, a modified version of which is to serve as a moon lander, would not be ready in time.
Accusations brushed aside by Elon Musk on
After several postponements, the Artemis 3 mission is now planned by NASA for mid-2027, a date which experts say is untenable, with SpaceX still having to brave immense technical challenges before its rocket is ready for such a mission.
However, time is running out, the United States having engaged in a space competition with China, with Beijing also aiming to send men to the lunar surface… by 2030.
NASA could therefore use another lander – developed by Jeff Bezos’ competing company Blue Origin or others – to go faster.
These tensions between the boss of SpaceX and Sean Duffy also arise against a backdrop of negotiations over the future permanent administrator of NASA.
Businessman Jared Isaacman, close to Elon Musk, who was first chosen by Donald Trump, was dismissed at the end of May shortly before the quarrel between the president and the boss of SpaceX came to light.
But according to press information, the president is considering renaming it, which is opposed by Mr. Duffy, who would like to keep management of NASA.
