The mission comes after of an explosive online spat between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and, until recently, Trump’s ally and advisor. Trump threatened to yank SpaceX’s federal contracts — worth tens of billions of dollars — prompting Musk to threaten an early retirement of Dragon, the only American spacecraft currently certified to carry astronauts to the ISS.

Musk walked back the threat a few hours later and in the days that followed, sought to distance himself further, writing on X that he had gone “too far.”

Any rupture between SpaceX and the US government would be massively disruptive, given NASA and the Pentagon’s reliance on Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy to send up crew, cargo, satellites and probes. But for now, analysts believe both sides are too entangled to risk a serious break.

The upcoming flight marks the debut of the fifth and final Crew Dragon vehicle, which will be named once it reaches orbit, joining Endeavour, Resilience, Endurance and Freedom in the active fleet.  SpaceX ultimately plans to phase out its current vehicles in the 2030s in favor of Starship, its giant next-generation rocket currently in development.