President Donald Trump appointed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy the interim administrator of NASA in yet another blow to former ally Elon Musk.

In response, Trump told NBC News that he had no intentions of speaking to Elon and said he would "pay very serious consequences" if he funded Democrats in future elections. Things simmered down when the two backtracked a bit. Trump told reporters he was planning on keeping the red Tesla.

A new crew will soon be heading to the International Space Station. It comes at a time of upheaval at NASA, where the agency lacks a permanent administrator and has more cuts on the horizon.

Is the future of US space exploration more dictated by political winds than by engineering vision? The unexpected pulling back of Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA, after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s temporary appointment,