open image in gallery SpaceX founder Elon Musk said he would begin decommissioning the company's Dragon spacecraft in response to threats from President Donald Trump. The Dragon has been used for more than a decade (@elonmusk/X) Musk initially replied to a tweet from Ars Technica’s Senior Space Editor Eric Berger, who had written that terminating the contracts would “both end the International Space Station and simultaneously provide no way to safely deorbit it.” “Is he really holding astronauts hostage??? 😳” astrophysicist Dr. Meredith Wills added on BlueSky in response to Musk’s announcement. “RIP international space station,” said user @seggl. Later on Thursday, Musk indicated he might change his mind in his response to a tweet that read: “This is a shame this back and forth. You are both better than this. Cool off and take a step back for a couple days.” Musk replied: “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether he was being serious or not. SpaceX is one of the biggest federal contractors. Since 2008, SpaceX has received more than $20 billion in contracts from NASA, the Air Force and other agencies, according to CNBC. “NASA will continue to execute upon the President’s vision for the future of space,” a spokesperson told The Independent. “We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President’s objectives in space are met.” It’s unclear if any of this will actually happen, but the spat comes at a fraught moment for the rudderless agency. Trump’s pick for future administrator, who had ties to Musk, was just cast out. Last week, NASA released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026, slashing funds for climate satellites, astronomy and other science, and focusing on spaceflight and missions to the moon and Mars. open image in gallery Elon Musk laughed at the potential impacts of the president terminating his subsidies and contracts. Still, it’s unclear what might happen (@elonmusk/X) The space station, which first launched in 1998, is expected to be deorbited in 2030 and “at the end of [its] useful life.” Last year, NASA gave that responsibility to SpaceX, selecting them to deliver and develop the vehicle that will provide the capability to deorbit the laboratory. Musk, however, has said he wants to take it down sooner, rather than later. In February, he said it had “served its purpose” and recommended it come down in two years. Instead, his focus has largely been trained on the red planet and making humans a multi-planetary civilization. “Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars,” Musk said. open image in gallery The International Space Station is seen in orbit above Earth. The space station first launched in 1998. There are seven crew members on the space station right now (NASA/Roscosmos) SpaceX is a large part of future of NASA’s prioritized moon-to-Mars missions. The company was selected to provide the human landing system that will transport astronauts to the surface of the moon and back. Musk has been testing the Starship with mixed success. Trump himself was at a test flight with Musk in November. A timeline for Artemis II — the first crewed mission on the Space Launch System — and the Orion spacecraft, remains April 2026, according to the agency’s website. SpaceX also helped fill a critical hole for NASA after a Northrop Grumman spacecraft used to bring food, fuel, and supplies to the space station was damaged. A request for comment from SpaceX was not immediately returned. More about