logo
Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans

Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans

IOL Newsa day ago

Elon Musk says his time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end.
Image: Brandon Bell / Getty Images via AFP
SpaceX's rockets ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Starlink satellite constellation blankets the globe with broadband, and the company is embedded in some of the Pentagon's most sensitive projects, including tracking hypersonic missiles.
So when President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to cancel Elon Musk's federal contracts, space watchers snapped to attention.
Musk, the world's richest person, shot back that he would mothball Dragon -- the capsule NASA relies on for crew flights -- before retracting the threat a few hours later.
For now, experts say mutual dependence should keep a full-blown rupture at bay, but the episode exposes just how disruptive any break could be.
Founded in 2002, SpaceX leapfrogged legacy contractors to become the world's dominant launch provider.
Driven by Musk's ambition to make humanity multiplanetary, it is now NASA's sole means of sending astronauts to the ISS -- a symbol of post–Cold War cooperation and a testbed for deeper space missions.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Ad Loading
Space monopoly?
The company has completed 10 regular crew rotations to the orbiting lab and is contracted for four more, under a deal worth nearly $5 billion.
That's just part of a broader portfolio that includes $4 billion from NASA for developing Starship, the next-generation megarocket; nearly $6 billion from the Space Force for launch services; and a reported $1.8 billion for Starshield, a classified spy satellite network.
Were Dragon grounded, the United States would again be forced to rely on Russian Soyuz rockets for ISS access -- as it did between 2011 and 2020, following the Space Shuttle's retirement and before Crew Dragon entered service.
"Under the current geopolitical climate, that would not be optimal," space analyst Laura Forczyk told AFP.
NASA had hoped Boeing's Starliner would provide redundancy, but persistent delays -- and a failed crewed test last year -- have kept it grounded.
Even Northrop Grumman's cargo missions now rely on SpaceX's Falcon 9, the workhorse of its rocket fleet.
The situation also casts a shadow over NASA's Artemis program.
A lunar lander variant of Starship is slated for Artemis III and IV, the next US crewed Moon missions. If Starship were sidelined, rival Blue Origin could benefit -- but the timeline would almost certainly slip, giving China, which aims to land humans by 2030, a chance to get there first, Forczyk warned.
"There are very few launch vehicles as capable as Falcon 9 -- it isn't feasible to walk away as easily as President Trump might assume," she said.
NASA meanwhile appeared eager to show that it had options.
"NASA is assessing the earliest potential for a Starliner flight to the International Space Station in early 2026, pending system certification and resolution of Starliner's technical issues," the agency said in a statement Friday to AFP.
Still, the feud could sour Trump on space altogether, Forczyk cautioned, complicating NASA's long-term plans.
SpaceX isn't entirely dependent on the US government. Starlink subscriptions and commercial launches account for a significant share of its revenue, and the company also flies private missions.
The next, with partner Axiom Space, will carry astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary, funded by their respective governments.
Private power, public risk
But losing US government contracts would still be a major blow.
"It's such a doomsday scenario for both parties that it's hard to envision how US space efforts would fill the gap," Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP.
"Both sides have every reason to bridge the disagreement and get back to business."
Signs of a rift emerged last weekend, when the White House abruptly withdrew its nomination of e-payments billionaire Jared Isaacman -- a close Musk ally who has twice flown to space with SpaceX -- as NASA administrator.
On a recent podcast, Isaacman said he believed he was dropped because "some people had some axes to grind, and I was a good, visible target."
The broader episode could also reignite debate over Washington's reliance on commercial partners, particularly when one company holds such a dominant position.
Swope noted that while the US government has long favored buying services from industry, military leaders tend to prefer owning the systems they depend on.
"This is just another data point that might bolster the case for why it can be risky," he said. "I think that seed has been planted in a lot of people's minds -- that it might not be worth the trust."

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ramaphosa defends BEE as vital for inclusive economic growth
Ramaphosa defends BEE as vital for inclusive economic growth

Mail & Guardian

timean hour ago

  • Mail & Guardian

Ramaphosa defends BEE as vital for inclusive economic growth

President Cyril Ramaphosa President Cyril Ramaphosa has again defended black economic empowerment, saying the In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said South Africa should 'pursue growth and transformation in concert' and must 'dispense with the false notion that we must make a choice between growth and transformation'. Economic growth without transformation would entrench exclusion, while transformation without growth was unsustainable, he warned. The remarks follow mounting opposition to broad-based black economic empowerment (broad-based BEE) and the Employment Equity Act, including from political parties such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus, which are part of Ramaphosa's government of national unity. In May, Freedom Front Plus urged Ramaphosa to dispose of BEE laws and commit to investor friendly policies after he led a delegation to the United States to try to mend damaged relations over what President Donald Trump says are South African laws that discriminate against whites. The DA is challenging the Malatsi rejected suggestions that the regulations were aimed at paving the way for Elon Musk's Starlink to operate in South Africa, as critics have suggested. Starlink has failed to get an operating licence because South African-born Musk refused to meet broad-based BEE ownership requirements. South Africa's drive for transformation stands in contrast to the US's rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion measures, which puts at risk global policy coherence ahead of the G20 presidency handover between the two countries later this year. Although it has been widely criticised for only benefiting the politically-connected and being riddled with corruption, Ramaphosa praised broad-based BEE for creating black industrialists and changing management control and patterns of ownership in companies. 'The progress we have made is undeniable. We have seen real changes in ownership patterns, including more businesses owned by women. We have seen changes in management control, enterprise development and skills development,' he wrote in the newsletter. He noted that, according to Statistics South Africa, from 2006 to 2023, black African households experienced real income growth of 46%, coloured households of 29% and Indian households of 19%. 'Despite this progress, the average income of white households is still nearly five times higher than that of black African households. This is the gulf we must close through deliberate and sustained efforts to expand opportunity,' Ramaphosa added. He highlighted the 'poly-crisis' of global conflict, economic stagnation, mistrust in institutions and climate change as the challenge to government efficiency. The Institute of Race Relations has criticised broad-based BEE, arguing instead for ' Ramaphosa said transformation would continue as a guiding principle for the government's infrastructure programmes, new industries in the green transition, localisation efforts and reindustrialisation. 'The transformation we seek is not about ticking boxes. It is about building a resilient, just economy for generations to come,' he wrote in the newsletter.

Ukraine says Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Odesa, killing three
Ukraine says Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Odesa, killing three

eNCA

timean hour ago

  • eNCA

Ukraine says Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Odesa, killing three

KYIV - Russia launched fresh drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and port city of Odesa early on Tuesday, killing three people and hitting a maternity hospital, Ukrainian officials said. Moscow has escalated its bombardments of Ukraine and Kyiv has retaliated with strikes deep inside Russian territory. Talks in Turkey last week failed to yield a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war. Aside from an agreement to exchange prisoners, progress has stalled and Russia has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire. After the overnight barrage of more than 300 drones and seven missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Kyiv's Western allies to respond with "concrete action". "Action from America, which has the power to force Russia into peace. Action from Europe, which has no alternative but to be strong," Zelensky wrote in a post on social media. He added that two of the missiles fired in the latest wave attacks were made in North Korea. AFP | Ihor SHVYDCHENKO Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted "Ukrainian aviation, missile, armoured vehicle and ship-building facilities in Kyiv" with a "group strike". "The goal of the strikes was achieved. All designated objects were hit," the ministry said. But residential and hospital buildings were struck in Odesa, where two people were killed and at least nine others were wounded, Governor Oleg Kiper said. "The enemy massively attacked Odesa with strike drones," Kiper wrote on Telegram. "The Russians hit a maternity hospital, an emergency medical ward and residential buildings," he said, adding that the maternity hospital had been evacuated in time. - Prisoner swap - In central Kyiv, an AFP journalist heard at least a dozen explosions, anti-aircraft fire and the buzzing of drones. City officials said one woman was killed and four people were wounded. The mayor said strikes hit at least seven districts, setting buildings and cars on fire. Russia's 2022 invasion of its neighbour triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forcing millions to flee their homes and decimating much of eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukrainian cities are targeted by Russian air strikes almost daily. AFP | Tetiana DZHAFAROVA Russia launched a record 479 explosive drones at Ukraine overnight into Monday morning, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Kyiv has responded with attacks on Russian territory, targeting transport and weapons production infrastructure. Russia's transport agency Rosaviatsia said on Tuesday that flight operations had been temporarily restricted at more than a dozen Russian airports -- standard procedure during Ukrainian drone attacks. In the city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine, Russian emergency services said one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on a petrol station. Russia's defence ministry said it had intercepted 102 Ukrainian drones overnight. Despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to reach a ceasefire agreement, peace talks are at a standstill. The only concrete agreement reached at talks in Istanbul last week was a large-scale prisoner exchange and the repatriation of dead soldiers' bodies. - Demands - Russia and Ukraine swapped a first group of captured soldiers on Monday and Zelensky announced the exchange would "continue in several stages over the coming days". The deal should see the freeing of all captured soldiers under the age of 25, as well as those who are sick or severely wounded. But Zelensky said last week it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree to a ceasefire. Russian forces meanwhile are making steady advances across the front line. Over the weekend Moscow said it had pushed its offensive into the Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time, marking a significant territorial escalation. "Time for everyone to finally accept the fact that Russia understands only strikes, not rational words," Zelensky's top aide, Andriy Yermak, said on Tuesday, in a thinly veiled criticism of the Trump administration. AFP | Tetiana DZHAFAROVA It has also rejected a proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire sought by Kyiv and the European Union, arguing that this would allow Ukrainian forces to rearm with Western deliveries. Ukraine is demanding a complete Russian withdrawal of from its territory and security guarantees from the West. bur-mmp/jbr/gil

Hopes rise as US and China continue trade talks
Hopes rise as US and China continue trade talks

The Citizen

timean hour ago

  • The Citizen

Hopes rise as US and China continue trade talks

Tensions between the US and China heightened when Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariffs war. US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng shake hands as they pose for a photo during trade discussions at the Lancaster House in London on June 9, 2025. Picture: US Treasury Department/AFP The United States and China began a second day of trade talks on Tuesday, seeking to shore up a shaky tariff truce in a bitter row deepened by export curbs. The gathering of key officials from the world's two biggest economies began Monday in London, after an earlier round of talks in Geneva last month. Stock markets wavered as investors hoped the talks will bring some much-needed calm on trading floors and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. 'A big, strong handshake' A US Treasury spokesman told AFP on Tuesday the 'talks resumed earlier this' morning. One of US President Donald Trump's top advisers said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks in the historic Lancaster House, operated by the UK foreign ministry. Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday: 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy. 'I'm only getting good reports.' The agenda The agenda is expected to be dominated by exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things including smartphones, electric vehicle batteries and green technology. 'In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy,' Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. ALSO READ: Trump says deal with Xi 'extremely hard' as steel tariffs double But even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, 'it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal', he added. Still, he said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks. 'Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,' Hassett added. He also said the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs on tech exports. Tensions Tensions between Washington and Beijing have heightened since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariffs war hiking duties on each other's exports to three figures — an effective trade embargo. The Geneva pact to cool tensions temporarily brought new US tariffs on Chinese goods down from 145 percent to 30 percent, and Chinese countermeasures from 125 percent to 10 percent. But Trump recently said China had 'totally violated' the deal. 'Investors are willing to grab on to any positive trade headline right now, as this is keeping hopes of a rally alive,' said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. ALSO READ: Weekly economic wrap: The bleak picture of SA's GDP Concessions? Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at the Swissquote Bank, said that although there had been 'no breakthrough' it seemed 'the first day of the second round of negotiations reportedly went relatively well'. 'Rumours are circulating that the US may be willing to make concessions on tech exports in exchange for China easing restrictions on rare earth metal exports,' she said. Rare earth shipments from China to the US have slowed since the tariff war was triggered by Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' announcements, according to Brooks. The US leader slapped sweeping levies of 10 percent on friend and foe alike, and threatened steeper rates on dozens of economies. The tariffs have already had a sharp effect, with official figures from Beijing showing Chinese exports to the United States in May plunged by 12.7 percent. China is also in talks with other trading partners — including Japan and South Korea — to try to build a united front to counter Trump's tariffs. China-South Korea relations Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung to work with Beijing to uphold free trade to ensure 'the stability and smooth functioning of global and regional industrial and supply chains.' 'A healthy, stable, and continuously deepening China–South Korea relationship aligns with the trend of the times,' Xi said in a phone call, according to the Xinhua news agency. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is heading the team in London, which included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are leading the US delegation. NOW READ: Ayo fined over breach of listing rules

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store