Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that Elon Musk’s SpaceX is “behind” the U.S. plan to return to the moon with Artemis and that he would open the contract to other companies.
“We’re not going to wait for one company,” Duffy, now acting NASA administrator, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday. “We’re going to push this forward and win a second space race with China. We’re going to go back to the moon and set up camps and bases.”
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SpaceX is one of various contractors participating in NASA’s Artemis mission, which aims to establish “the first extended stay on the moon” and prepare for a mission to Mars. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin boeing, lockheed martin and Northrop Grumman also supports the mission.
SpaceX won a contract in 2021 to provide lunar landing systems for astronauts on the Artemis III mission.
In December, NASA postponed the next Artemis mission, with the next launch to send astronauts around the moon delayed until April 2026, and a trip to land two astronauts in the moon’s south pole region to 2027.
Duffy said Monday that he believes the April launch could take place in early February, and that officials are working with two potential companies to “go back to the moon in 2028.” Duffy highlighted Blue Origin as a potential competitor who could take over.
“They’re pushing the timeline and we’re competing with China,” Duffy said of SpaceX. “The president and I want to go to the moon during this president’s term, so we’re going to start a deal.
Rocket testing for SpaceX and the space industry hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
The company launched its 11th Starship test rocket earlier this month after a series of failures and explosions. firefly aerospace‘s Alpha rocket exploded last month, shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared it to continue testing.
