White House Pressed U.S. Space Firms to Skip Macron's Paris Summit, and SpaceX and Blue Origin Pulled Out

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy hosted a call about a week before September 3 with several U.S. space companies planning to attend France's International Space Summit on September 9 and 10, telling them their attendance could suggest support for European policy positions the United States disagrees with, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The officials made strong suggestions but did not explicitly direct companies not to attend. France's space ministry said SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space and Starcloud canceled their attendance on September 3, and one source said some planned U.S.-European company announcements were also pulled.

Pressure on private firms to avoid an allied government's summit blurs the line between diplomacy and the direction of commercial conduct.

A French ministry spokeswoman said it was difficult not to link the cancellations to reports of U.S. pressure, but said some American firms are still attending. An OSTP official said the administration continues to collaborate with allies and looks forward to productive conversations at the summit.