Elon Musk’s ‘Ship Of The Future’ Shows Russia Who's Boss

Elon Musk may be facing backlash for his decisions within Tesla, but the successful launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon has earned him praise — even from Russia.

The United States has been at odds with Russia on many accounts, from world war concerns to their nuclear arsenals. While they do cooperate when it comes to the International Space Station, there's still a space race between the two nations.

"With this launch, even if it was ordered by NASA, this private company SpaceX has made Roscosmos null and void. They have shown Roscosmos who’s who," Vadim Lukashevich, a Russian-based space expert, said in his interview with Russian television station Moscow 24 and translated for Ars by Robinson Mitchell.

"Everyone remembers Rogozin’s remarks about trampolines and such, so in fact this isn’t just resentment, it is a constant major headache for Roscosmos," he added. Lukashevich was referring to the comment of Roscosmos leader Dmitry Rogozin. The U.S. government apparently sanctioned Rogozin and he went off to say that NASA should use a trampoline to go to space.

Russia's response has also been riddled with some shade. First, Roscosmos congratulated NASA.

"Roscosmos sends its sincere compliments to the colleagues from @NASA in connection with the successful trial docking of the new spacecraft," the agency said. However, on Monday, the Russian space corporation wanted to celebrate the historical moment in a different light.

"For the first time in the history of the station, the crew worked in Russian-made IPK gas masks," Roscosmos tweeted.

Crew Dragon successfully docked at the ISS recently amid Musk’s plan of creating the world's first commercial spaceship to carry humans into space. Many see this feat as another step closer to Musk’s goal of bringing more humans into Earth’s orbit, possibly breeding a new kind of industry: space tourism.

If everything goes according to plan, then SpaceX will be taking NASA astronauts to the ISS this July. Eventually, Musk intends Crew Dragon to be used for commercial transportation of people into space.

Lukashevich acknowledged Musk’s success when he said that the business magnate has created the "ship of the future."

"[I]t beats Soyuz according to every parameter, by every technological indicator," he added.