Elon Musk has more than put his all into the 2024 American presidential campaign to get Donald Trump elected. A situation which allowed him to have a place in the government, notably with its “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE in English).
His goal is simple: take $2,000 billion from the national budget, “which means he will evaluate contracts for his own company, SpaceX,” specifies Futurism. All this would bring with it a blatant conflict of interest with NASA, which is already worrying experts.
SpaceX about to replace NASA because of Musk and Trump?
The director of national security at the Progressive Policy Institute, Peter Juul, also shared his concern on this subject with SpaceNews. The latter specifically warns against the risk that NASA becomes a simple channel to transfer taxpayers' money to the pockets of Elon Musk.
“If President-elect Donald Trump and techno-oligarch Elon Musk have their way, NASA – one of America's crown jewels – could become a contracting agency,” he shares with the media. This statement suggests a fear that the US space agency is losing its independence and its crucial role in space research and exploration, to the benefit of SpaceX's private interests.
Although the Starship is making great strides, Peter Juul does not mince his words about SpaceX, explaining in particular that “the company has not demonstrated the technical competence required to execute even less demanding missions” than those planned for the Moon and March. He notably recalls that Musk's launcher has still not reached orbit, which is essential for the Artemis III mission.
An influence that could be countered by Congress
“And of course, that doesn't take into account Musk's growing character issues that could make him a key part of the space program: his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his growing embrace of racist and transphobic worldviews , or its formidable catalog of sexual allegations”, underlines Futurism in passing.
The good news in the story is that the US Congress could limit Elon Musk's influence over the US space agency. Indeed, Peter Juul specifies that the latter “has the capacity to prevent the incoming administration from dismantling NASA and effectively entrusting its activities to a private company”.
He has already intervened regarding NASA's direction, “whether it involves reducing its budget or imposing a major revision of the space agency's Mars sample return mission” .
Peter Juul therefore advises Congress to redouble its efforts to develop reusable launchers within NASA, “a unique skill that no other nation or private company can match,” he explains.
The latter also wants Congress to apply NASA's policy on dual-source commercial contracts, thus forcing two companies to compete instead of leaving the contract to just one. This would prevent SpaceX from winning every time.
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