SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the world needs fully reusable rockets and spacecraft, not another capsule, especially after Boeing's long-waited Starliner suffered yet another setback in its crewed mission.
"The world doesn't need another capsule," the tech mogul announced in a post on X.com, citing the importance of full reusability in aerospace technology.
The comments by Musk come in light of Boeing's recent cancellation of the Starliner manned mission that was supposed to take NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Indian-Origin Sunita Williams to the space station. It was called off just two hours before launch because of a faulty valve in the rocket's upper stage.
Both Boeing and SpaceX had entered into contracts with NASA's Commercial Crew Programme to conduct operational missions to and from the space station, with Boeing's Starliner facing delays compared to SpaceX's Dragon capsules.
"Despite receiving $4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule compared to SpaceX's $2.6 billion, SpaceX completed its mission four years earlier," Musk pointed out.
Musk further contrasted the approach to design between SpaceX's Dragon 1 and Dragon 2 crew capsules, while Musk also partly blamed Boeing's delays on managerial issues.
"Too many non-technical managers at Boeing," he said.
Meanwhile, Boeing, touted as the world's largest aerospace company, also has its share of controversy in the deaths of whistleblowers.
"How do they even manage to work with so many whistleblowers?" Musk quipped in response to a user's observation about the abundance of whistleblowers at Boeing.
"Boeing should consider rebranding as a whistle manufacturer," suggested Musk.
Both Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Dragon are intended to serve NASA missions, transporting astronauts and cargo to low Earth orbit and beyond.
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