Almost immediately after the announcement, Elon Musk issued his response.
So, what exactly happened, and how did Elon Musk react?
In other news, SpaceX has just set a remarkable new record for rocket reuse with Falcon 9, while also achieving another major milestone with the Starlink program.
Meanwhile, NASA has made headlines for another reason entirely, as the agency has reportedly laid off a significant number of employees.
Let’s explore all of these developments in today’s episode of Great SpaceX.
We are now less than 2 years away from Artemis 3, the highly anticipated mission scheduled for 2027 that will return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.
This mission holds immense significance, not only because of the symbolic return to the Moon but also because it could determine which nation will lead the new space race of the 21st century.
SpaceX and its Starship Human Landing System, or HLS, have been officially assigned to carry out this historic task.
However, that arrangement may now be in jeopardy following a surprising new statement from NASA itself, the very agency that awarded SpaceX the contract several years ago.
Recently, NASA’s Acting Administrator, Sean Duffy, made headlines after announcing a major shift in the agency’s approach to the Artemis program.
He stated that NASA would open the development of the Human Landing System to new competition. On X, Duffy wrote,
“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. SpaceX has the contract to build the HLS which will get U.S. astronauts there on Artemis III. 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 another post, Duffy added,
“A little competition does not hurt and it spurs innovation. American companies will now be able to compete to see which one can get us back to the Moon first. We are going to beat China there, and we are going to do it under the leadership of the President.”
NASA Chief announced Big Changes on Starship Moon Landing Contract While...Elon Musk Reactions!
From Duffy’s statements, it is clear that NASA is placing tremendous emphasis on the goal of being the first to return to the Moon, primarily in the context of its rivalry with China’s rapidly advancing lunar program.
Within that competitive framework, NASA seems to believe that SpaceX’s progress on Starship has not been as fast as they had hoped.
Indeed, when we examine Starship’s development timeline, there are signs of concern.
After 3 years of test flights and eleven launches, Starship has made impressive strides in proving its fundamental systems.
However, many critical milestones for the lunar variant have yet to be achieved.
These include in-orbit refueling, successful orbital payload delivery, and controlled landings - key capabilities needed for the Artemis 3 mission.
At the current rate, it is likely that SpaceX will spend the first half of next year finalizing those objectives, with refueling infrastructure construction beginning mid-year.
That tight timeline raises legitimate questions about readiness for the 2027 deadline.
