Toni Dimaano Science 12.12.2022 23:Dec PM EST

NASA Remains Confident In SpaceX Following Elon Musk's Chaotic Twitter Takeover

NASA administrator Bill Nelson says that he is confident that the distraction Elon Musk has on Twitter is not going to be detrimental to SpaceX.

According to Space, Nelson received personal assurances from the billionaire through its long-time employee Gwynne Shotwell, when she attended the Kennedy Center Honors.

NASA Is Taking Notice Of The Turmoil Happening On Twitter

Alongside Twitter, Musk also owns SpaceX which is one of the most important private partners of the space agency for its ongoing space explorations.

With this, the raucous caused by the CEO's acquisition of the social media platform is making NASA worried about the future of the agency's partnership with SpaceX.

It can be remembered that SpaceX received its first contract from NASA in 2014, where it became responsible for sending astronauts to the International Space Station with the Dragon spacecraft.

Starting in 2025 or 2026, SpaceX is partnering again with NASA to take astronauts in space and land them on the moon via the Artemis 3 and the Artemis 4 using SpaceX's Starship.

However, with Musk's new business endeavor as Twitter's chief, NASA administrator Nelson found it necessary to ask Musk about the future of the partnership through Shotwell.

Shotwell confirmed that NASA has nothing to worry about regarding its contract with SpaceX, to which Nelson also responded with confidence towards the private company.

What Was NASA So Concerned About

NASA pays billions to SpaceX to bring its astronauts and space cargo to and from the ISS, which the NASA administrator even praised for being relatively cheap for such good service.

Gizmodo writes that Nelson was concerned about the situation, considering the newly forged agreement between the space agency and SpaceX that was worth $1.15 billion.

This deal was an extension of the existing $2.89 billion contract NASA already has in relation with the Artemis 3 human landing system which was made beforehand.

Since then, SpaceX has been a huge part of the Artemis program, but should SpaceX not deliver or show signs of unprofessionalism due to Musk's involvement with Twitter, NASA can opt to look for a partner elsewhere.

However, even before the billionaire took over Twitter, Space writes that his erratic behavior has already caused criticisms from numerous members of the public.

Musk was also told that his behavior is a distraction and an embarrassment, which concerned many SpaceX employees, forcing them to write an open letter to Time Magazine in 2016.

Despite this, NBC News reports Nelson keeps his faith that Musk will keep his word and do his best to fulfill SpaceX's duties for NASA, based on his conversation with Shotwell.

Nelson is a former US senator who is a longtime friend of President Joe Biden, who was tapped last year to lead NASA in boosting its public-private space exploration with SpaceX.

In May, Nelson told the Senate panel that the SpaceX project with NASA saved the taxpayers in the US as much as $40 billion dollars in launching costs.