Elon Musk’s company is the dominant player for space launches and satellite internet, and its lead is likely to grow. There is just no viable substitute.
Donald Trump walks to the podium to speak after viewing a SpaceX flight in 2020. AP
The public spat between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, was unsettling, given the power the two men wield and how their verbal tussle quickly escalated to issues that directly affect national security.
Trump floated the cancellation of all NASA and Department of Defence contracts with SpaceX, the space-launch and satellite-internet company Musk founded in 2002. Musk countered that he would withdraw the services of the Dragon space capsule, which is the only option, except for resorting to the Russians, for ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station.
