Upheaval on Twitter under the direction of its new owner, SpaceX founder Elon Musk, does not distract SpaceX from meeting NASA’s needs, the agency official said.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the Twitter takeover was unaffected SpaceXs so far. He also received personal assurances about the billionaire Elon Musk From a senior SpaceX official, According to NBC News (Opens in a new tab). Nelson spoke with Gwen Shotwell, a longtime SpaceX employee who is also the company’s president and chief operating officer, on Dec. 5, the report notes. The two were attending the Kennedy Center Honors Gala, an American cultural celebration, in Washington, DC
When Shotwell asked if Twitter was a distraction, he told Nelson “I assure you it isn’t,” Nelson said in the NBC report published Sunday (Dec. 11).
“You know, she was appointed as the person to lead SpaceX,” Nelson said. “So I take it straight from what we say in the South: the horse’s mouth. And it’s the horse that runs SpaceX.”
Pictures: Watch the evolution of SpaceX rockets
SpaceX received its first contract from NASA in 2014 and is responsible for sending astronauts to space International Space Stationalong with a large share of its payload, on variants of the Dragon Space ship. Starting in 2025 or 2026, SpaceX is also tasked with landing NASA astronauts on the moon. Artemis 3 And the Artemis 4 Use StarshipRecently, though, a new spacecraft has yet to reach orbit Target December 1st airline.
Even before touching Twitter took On 28 October, his behavior caused some to panic. On Twitter prior to the takeover, various media reports indicated, he said Dirty jokes (Opens in a new tab) And the insults (Opens in a new tab) He even summoned a rescuer for Thai children fagot (Opens in a new tab). Musk, who was in Time magazine 2021 Person of the Yearin recent months sexual misconduct with a flight attendant in 2016; His “distraction and embarrassment” behavior has also been the subject of open discourse by many Anonymous employees from SpaceX.
Pictures: The 20 most memorable SpaceX missions from the first 20 years
Several media reports have stated that Musk’s new ownership has dramatically changed the landscape of Twitter culture. He removed its board of directors and most of its senior executive team, abruptly More than half (Opens in a new tab) Of the company’s then 7,500 employees, they insisted that those who remained adhere to it “hardcore” work (Opens in a new tab) With “long hours at high intensity”, the previously remote workforce has been forced to move into smaller cities Back to the office (Opens in a new tab) With a few days notice, reportedly installed Sleeping places on site (Opens in a new tab)among many other changes.
Musk has also re-created several controversial Twitter accounts, incl Twitter account of President Donald Trump (Opens in a new tab). Trump was banned from the platform after playing a critical role in the January 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill; Trump falsely declared that the federal election results were fraudulent and asked the American people to take action.
Advertisers were Flee from the platform (Opens in a new tab) Meanwhile, Twitter’s revenues are greatly reduced. Musk’s first attempt “verified” $8 subscription accounts (Opens in a new tab) Last month, I created a large number of satirical accounts spreading disinformation in just a matter of hours, until the project was shut down.
Lockheed Martin, a longtime NASA contractor, is among the companies that have He may have lost billions (Opens in a new tab) In the stock market after a “verified” fake account on Lockheed chirp (Opens in a new tab) That the aerospace giant will stop its military sales to the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Elizabeth Howell is co-author of “Why am I taller (Opens in a new tab)? (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book on space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @employee (Opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @employee (Opens in a new tab) or Facebook (Opens in a new tab).
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