SpaceX | DD News

August 2, 2025 3:56 PM

SpaceX launches joint astronaut crew to ISS in NASA’s Crew-11 mission

An international crew of four astronauts launched toward the International Space Station from Florida on Friday aboard a SpaceX rocket, embarking on a routine NASA mission that could be the first of many to last a couple months longer than usual. The four-person crew - two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and Japanese astronaut - boarded SpaceX's Dragon capsule sitting atop its Falcon 9 rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and beat gloomy weather to blast off at 11:43 a.m. ET (1543 GMT). A...

July 25, 2025 9:24 AM

Trump says he wants Musk and his companies to thrive in US

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would not destroy Elon Musk's companies by taking away federal subsidies and that he wants the billionaire tech entrepreneur's businesses to thrive. The remarks follow a public clash with his former close ally over his tax bill. In July, the space and automotive billionaire announced the formation of a new political party, saying Trump's "big, beautiful" tax bill would bankrupt America. "Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taki...

July 22, 2025 3:48 PM

Trump’s Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk’s SpaceX

The Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The shift marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks have become central to U.S. military communications. It comes amid a deteriora...

July 15, 2025 2:40 PM

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s space mission will boost India’s Gaganyaan project: ISRO

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's space mission will play a crucial role in India's first manned spaceflight under the Gaganyaan programme, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Monday. Shukla became the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space where he undertook scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS). "This has been an unforgettable experience for him (Shubhanshu Shukla). He carried out multiple experiments aboard the Space Shuttle and the Int...

July 15, 2025 2:01 PM

Shubhanshu Shukla’s parents excited ahead of Dragon spacecraft splashdown

As the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft prepares for splashdown, excitement and happiness run high in the family of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla - the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission. Speaking to ANI, his mother, Asha Shukla said. “We are very excited... When we saw the undocking, we knew he was on his way home. We are waiting eagerly for our son. He will reach by evening. We prayed for his well-being, visited the temple, ...

July 13, 2025 4:24 PM

SpaceX to invest $2 billion in Musk’s xAI startup, WSJ reports

SpaceX has committed $2 billion to xAI as part of a $5 billion equity round, deepening the ties between tech billionaire Elon Musk's ventures as his artificial intelligence startup races to compete with rival OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The investment follows xAI's merger with X and values the combined company at $113 billion, with the Grok chatbot now powering Starlink support and eyed for future integration into Tesla's Optimus robots, the report added. In response ...

July 7, 2025 10:26 AM

Trump calls Musk’s formation of new party ‘ridiculous’ and criticizes his own NASA pick

President Donald Trump on Sunday called Elon Musk's plans to form a new political party "ridiculous," launching new barbs at the tech billionaire and saying the Musk ally he once named to lead NASA would have presented a conflict of interest given Musk's business interests in space. A day after Musk escalated his feud with Trump and announced the formation of a new U.S. political party, the Republican president was asked about it before boarding Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, as he re...

July 2, 2025 3:09 AM

Trump escalates feud with Musk, threatens Tesla, SpaceX support

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Elon Musk's companies receive from the federal government, in an escalation of the war of words between the president and the world's richest man, one-time allies who have since fallen out. The feud reignited on Monday when Musk, who spent hundreds of millions on Trump's re-election, renewed his criticism of Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, which would eliminate subsidies for electric vehicl...

June 27, 2025 3:07 PM

Shubhanshu Shukla’s parents, teacher celebrate his journey to ISS

The parents and teacher of India's second astronaut, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, expressed immense pride on Friday after his successful arrival at the International Space Station (ISS). Speaking to IANS, they shared their emotions, expressing joy and gratitude to God for his safe journey and lauding his remarkable achievement. IAF officer Shukla made history as the first Indian to reach the ISS and only the second Indian to travel to space, nearly 41 years after Wing Commander Rakesh Shar...

June 26, 2025 1:13 PM

Shubhanshu Shukla shares first in-flight experience on Axiom 4 mission

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew shared their first in-flight update from orbit early Wednesday, offering a glimpse into life aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as they journey to the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom Space said on X: “Tune in LIVE with the #Ax4 crew for their FIRST in-flight event at 01:47 AM EDT.” SpaceX also confirmed the update: “First opportunity to talk live with the Ax-4 crew on-orbit will be in roughly 15 minutes at ~1:47 a.m. ET this morning.” During t...