Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said SpaceX is “behind schedule” and thwarting the space agency’s ability to beat China back to the moon.

NASA plans to open its Artemis III Human Landing System (HLS) contract, originally awarded to SpaceX, as part of a new competition. The aerospace agency wants to use competition to speed up the U.S.’s return to the Moon, said Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation and acting NASA administrator, in multiple television interviews Oct. 20.

Elon Musk's SpaceX on Thursday said it proposed to NASA a simplified plan to send humans to the moon using its Starship rocket, as the agency presses its contractors to move more quickly toward beating China to the lunar surface this decade.

NASA may sideline SpaceX and select a different company to land its astronauts on the moon, which the agency is planning for later this decade, acting space agency chief Sean Duffy suggested during TV appearances on Monday,

The SpaceX CEO took shots at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as Duffy and Jared Isaacman position themselves to lead the space agency.

(CNN) - NASA is rethinking its reliance on SpaceX to land astronauts on the moon. Monday, Sean Duffy, the acting administrator for NASA, said the agency is going to let other companies compete with SpaceX for the NASA contract.

Elon Musk lashed out at NASA’s acting chief Sean Duffy, accusing him of “trying to kill NASA” amid a growing feud over the Artemis Moon program and the agency’s decision to invite rival companies like Blue Origin to compete with SpaceX.

Not one to sit out a feud, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk didn't take lightly to interim NASA head Sean Duffy saying the firm is behind schedule.

NASA may drop SpaceX and choose a different contractor for the Artemis III moon landing, as delays mount with SpaceX's Starship vehicle. NASA chief Sean Duffy emphasised the urgency of returning humans to the moon before China and indicated plans to open the contract for competition.