President Trump’s decision to pull a close associate of Elon Musk’s out of the running to lead NASA helped doom an extraordinary partnership.

In the heat of the moment, Elon Musk threatened to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and then he took it back. In doing so, however, the rocket billionaire dragged NASA into his messy breakup with Donald Trump, with the agency’s access to orbit now at stake.

President Donald Trump has said he plans to "take a look" at Elon Musk's government contracts after their blowup on Thursday. Musk and Trump sparred publicly as their relationship crumbled in real time over the House fiscal plan that Republicans named the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act.