White House Warns US Space Firms Off French Summit — SkimNews
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- Charles Powell, assistant director for space and spectrum at the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, told US space companies on an Aug. 27 call that attending the summit might let them be "used as a prop to support policies counter to U.S. interests," according to industry insiders.
- SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, K2 Space, and Astra were among the companies on the call; SpaceX and Blue Origin are no longer attending, French newspaper Le Monde reported.
- The US government is still sending representatives — OSTP, State, Commerce, and NASA are all attending, which Secure World Foundation's Victoria Samson called a "head-scratching decision."
- France announced a nearly $5 billion increase in military space spending last year under President Emmanuel Macron, and more than 120 countries are registered for the summit.
- A French ministry spokesperson told AFP it is "hard not to link" the US company pullouts to the rumored pressure, adding France "obviously" wants to continue working with US partners despite "strategic about-turns."
Why it matters: With France scaling military space spending by nearly $5 billion, US companies skipping the summit forfeit face time with European decision-makers driving those contracts — while US government agencies still attend, the boycott effectively hands European competitors an opening without any diplomatic upside.
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