Nasa losing patience with SpaceX over delays to Starship programme

Nasa plans to open SpaceX's lunar contract to competition due to delays with Starship. Photo / Getty Images

Nasa wants companies to compete with SpaceX over a contract it holds to put astronauts on the moon, a fresh sign of blowback over delays with Elon Musk’s Starship spacecraft.

“I’m in the process of opening that contract up,” acting Nasa administrator Sean Duffy said this week. “We’re going to have a space race in regard to American companies competing to see who can actually get us back to the moon first.”

Introducing other space companies this late in the agency’s signature human space exploration programme signals mounting concerns inside President Donald Trump’s administration over the US falling behind China in the drive to return astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than half a century.

“I love SpaceX. It’s an amazing company,” Duffy told CNBC. “The problem is they’re behind. They’ve pushed their timelines out, and we’re in a race against China.”

Nasa has awarded SpaceX contracts worth roughly $4 billion to turn the company’s Starship vehicle into a lunar lander that can carry the agency’s astronauts to the moon as early as 2027.

Duffy didn’t clarify what he means by opening up SpaceX’s contract, in particular whether he envisions a new bidding process or clawing back funds the company would receive.

A Nasa representative had no immediate comment beyond Duffy’s remarks. A SpaceX spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX originally competed for its lunar lander contract and won over two other finalists in 2021. Nasa also awarded Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin a second contract to develop a lunar lander in 2023 worth $3.4 billion.

SpaceX staged another mostly successful test of its Starship rocket earlier this month. But the company still must demonstrate and master many novel technologies between now and the moon landing – notably, the ability to refuel Starship while in orbit and launch the vehicle roughly a dozen times or more in a row. It’s a daunting to-do list when SpaceX still has not completed a full orbital mission with Starship.

Duffy said that opening up the SpaceX contract will ensure the US gets back to the moon before China. He said he anticipates Blue Origin getting involved in the new competition.

Nasa plans to launch astronauts around the moon as early as next year, part of a mission known as Artemis II. The space agency’s lunar landing with SpaceX’s Starship is slated for 2027, but critics have doubted that the company’s vehicle will be ready in time.

Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.