SpaceX pushed back firmly against former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine after he questioned the agency\u2019s reliance on Starship for the Artemis 3 Moon mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a detailed thread on X, SpaceX argued that Bridenstine\u2019s comments should be taken with a grain of salt as he is working as a paid lobbyist for companies that are competing for NASA contracts.<\/p>\n
Bridenstine\u2019s comments on Starship and Artemis 3<\/p>\n
Bridenstine and fellow former NASA chief Charlie Bolden noted during a recent symposium that NASA\u2019s current Artemis strategy is approaching zero chance of beating China to the Moon. Bridenstine expressed skepticism that NASA\u2019s current architecture, which is expected to use Starship to transport astronauts to and from the lunar surface, could succeed in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStarship is a tremendously important vehicle for the future,\u201d Bridenstine said, as per Space News<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s going to deliver large mass to low Earth orbit for a long time, and it\u2019s going to drive down costs and increase access. But if you need a moon lander, it\u2019s going to take time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr. Bridenstine\u2019s current campaign against Starship is either misguided or intentionally misleading. <\/p>\n SpaceX was selected to design and develop a Human Landing System for Artemis along with Blue Origin and Dynetics during Mr. Bridenstine’s tenure as NASA Administrator \u2192\u2026\u2014 SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 31, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n SpaceX responds to the former NASA administrator\u2019s comments<\/p>\n In a series of posts on X, SpaceX noted that while the company is very thankful to the former NASA administrator for helping create the Artemis Program, his comments about Starship<\/a> might not necessarily be coming from a place of objectivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n SpaceX\u2019s comments are as follows: \u201cLike many Americans, we are thankful for Mr. Bridenstine\u2019s service leading NASA at one point. He deserves credit for spearheading the creation of the Artemis Program. After departing NASA, he created a lobbying firm called the Artemis Group, representing a host of aerospace companies vying for NASA business.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Bridenstine\u2019s current campaign against Starship is either misguided or intentionally misleading. SpaceX was selected to design and develop a Human Landing System for Artemis along with Blue Origin and Dynetics during Mr. Bridenstine\u2019s tenure as NASA Administrator.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStarship was then selected by NASA for the Artemis III mission through fair and open competition after being identified as the best and lowest risk technical option \u2013 and the lowest price by a wide margin \u2013 by the civil servant team appointed to lead the agency\u2019s exploration mission by Mr. Bridenstine himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr. Bridenstine\u2019s recent musings promoting a new landing system \u2013 going so far as to invoke the Defense Production Act \u2013 are being misreported as though they were the unbiased thoughts of a former NASA Administrator. They are not. https:\/\/t.co\/Kd96ZhsUA2<\/a><\/p>\n