Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s spectacular fallout could have catastrophic consequences for the future of space travel.The two men – the president and the person who previously referred to himself as the “first buddy” – have in recent hours been engaged in a high-profile fight that has seen them make a host of threats and allegations about each other in public.

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.