Overview
- Acting administrator and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reopened competition for the Artemis III lunar lander after saying SpaceX is behind schedule on its Starship-based Human Landing System.
- Elon Musk attacked Duffy on X with personal insults after the reopening decision, intensifying a public dispute over NASA’s direction.
- Jared Isaacman, whose NASA nomination was withdrawn earlier this year, has re-emerged as a leading candidate and was interviewed by Duffy on October 13.
- Some White House officials are frustrated that Duffy bypassed normal channels and that the hiring battle has spilled into public view, according to CNN reporting.
- Duffy’s interim term runs through year-end, the timing of a permanent appointment remains unclear, and Duffy has floated moving NASA into the Department of Transportation even as NASA spokespeople dispute that he wants the job long term.