Notwithstanding SpaceX’s over $4 billion deal, NASA doesn’t trust Elon Musk
Director Bill Nelson does not trust Elon Musk, the CEO of the California-based company SpaceX, despite the company having a $4 billion contract with NASA and nearing the deadline for the lunar landing mission.
After awarding Elon Musk’s business a $2.9 billion contract in 2021, NASA gave the company another $1.15 billion contract in 2022, indicating that the Washington-based agency intended to include humans in its Artemis mission.
According to Nelson’s speech before the Senate in 2022, “they can leverage that money by working with a commercial industry and, through competition, bring those costs down,” is why NASA is looking to private companies to finance its lunar mission.
The 52-year-old millionaire is a contentious individual, according to NASA Director Nelson, who recently spoke with NPR. SpaceX will supply the rocket for Artemis 3.
Nelson responded to the role of the tech entrepreneur by saying: “Elon Musk chose Gwynne Shotwell as president, which is one of his most significant moves. SpaceX is run by her. She is very good. Thus, I’m not worried.”
According to CNBC, SpaceX’s Human Landing System (HSL) is estimated to be worth $4.2 billion in total through 2027. About $1.8 billion has been paid to Musk’s business by NASA.
NASA plans to launch Artemis II, the first crewed voyage around the Moon, in September 2025, and Artemis III, which would attempt to land people close to the lunar South Pole, in September 2026.
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