White House pressure for US firms to skip French space summit is ‘unfortunate,’ insiders say

President Donald Trump looks on as crew members on the International Space Station (ISS) are displayed on a screen at the Mission Control Center at NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on August 28, 2026. Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images

One policy director warned that American companies could be used as a ‘prop’ against their country’s interests.

A White House official warned U.S. space companies last week that if they attend an upcoming international summit in France, it might appear they’re supporting policies that go against their own country’s interests. Space advocates say the move discourages needed cooperation.

An industry insider told Defense One that Charles Powell, the assistant director for space and spectrum in the White House’s Office of Science and Technology policy, said in a call on Aug. 27 that space companies that attend next week’s International Space Summit in France “might be used as a prop to support policies counter to U.S. interests.” Politico, citing industry and Congressional sources, first reported the news on Thursday, and detailed that SpaceX, Stoke Space, K2 Space and Astra, which compete for civil and military space contracts, were among the companies on the call.

“This is all very unfortunate because France is a country we should be doing more space cooperation with, not less,” the industry insider said.

Space policy experts said the White House warning doesn’t make much sense because the U.S. government is attending the summit, France is a longtime NATO ally, and it is also investing in growing its military space capabilities. More than 120 countries are scheduled to attend next week’s summit in France, according to a government website.

White House spokespeople did not confirm whether Powell gave the warning and did not respond when asked for the rationale behind the call with U.S. space companies.

“The Trump administration continues to collaborate with allies and partners in space,” an Office of Science and Technology policy official told Defense One in a statement. “We look forward to productive conversations at the Space Summit on key priorities including science missions, exploration programs, and space security.”

SpaceX and Blue Origin are among the companies no longer attending the summit, French newspaper LeMonde reported .

"It's hard not to link it to the rumours of pressure," a ministry spokesperson told Agence France-Presse, LeMonde reported . "We obviously want to continue working with our US partners and allies, even though strategic about-turns and political pressures sometimes make the task needlessly complex," the spokesperson added.

Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a nearly $5 billion increase in military space spending. Victoria Samson, the Secure World Foundation’s chief director of space security and stability, told Defense One that U.S. companies want to get in on that investment.

“I think it's a head-scratching decision, given that OSTP, State, Commerce, and NASA are all attending. Also given the huge recent investments by France and Germany in their military space capabilities, you would think U.S. companies would be falling over themselves to get in front of European decision makers,” Samson, who is also attending the summit, said. “This just reads like another short-sighted effort by the Trump administration to stir the pot with long-time European allies.”

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2026年8月28日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在位于德克萨斯州休斯顿的美国宇航局林登·约翰逊航天中心任务控制中心观看国际空间站（ISS）宇航员的影像显示在大屏幕上。图片来源：Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images

一位政策主管警告说，美国公司可能会被利用来损害本国利益。

上周，一位白宫官员警告美国航天公司，如果他们参加即将在法国举行的国际峰会，可能会给人留下他们支持有损本国利益的政策的印象。航天倡导者表示，此举会阻碍必要的合作。

一位业内人士告诉Defense One，白宫科技政策办公室负责太空和频谱事务的助理主任查尔斯·鲍威尔在8月27日的一次电话会议上表示，参加下周在法国举行的国际太空峰会的航天公司“可能会被利用来支持与美国利益相悖的政策”。Politico援引业内人士和国会消息人士的话，于周四率先报道了这一消息，并详细指出，参与此次电话会议的公司包括SpaceX、Stoke Space、K2 Space和Astra等，这些公司都在竞标民用和军用航天合同。

“这一切都非常不幸，因为我们应该与法国加强太空合作，而不是减少合作，”业内人士表示。

太空政策专家表示，白宫的警告意义不大，因为美国政府将出席此次峰会，法国是北约的长期盟友，而且法国也在加大投入，提升其军事太空能力。据法国政府网站显示，下周将在法国举行的峰会将有超过120个国家参加。

白宫发言人没有证实鲍威尔是否发出了警告，也没有回应关于他与美国航天公司通话的理由。

“特朗普政府将继续与盟友和伙伴在太空领域开展合作，”一位科技政策官员在给Defense One的一份声明中表示。“我们期待在太空峰会上就包括科学任务、探索计划和太空安全在内的关键优先事项进行富有成效的对话。”

据法国《世界报》报道，SpaceX 和蓝色起源等公司已不再参加此次峰会。

据《世界报》报道，外交部发言人告诉法新社：“很难不把这件事与施压传闻联系起来。”该发言人补充说：“我们当然希望继续与美国伙伴和盟友合作，尽管战略上的反复和政治压力有时会使这项工作变得不必要的复杂。”

去年，法国总统马克龙宣布将军事太空开支增加近50亿美元。安全世界基金会太空安全与稳定首席主任维多利亚·萨姆森告诉《防务一号》杂志，美国公司也希望参与这项投资。

“考虑到白宫科技政策办公室、国务院、商务部和美国国家航空航天局都将出席，我认为这是一个令人费解的决定。此外，鉴于法国和德国近期在军事航天能力方面投入巨资，人们会认为美国公司会争先恐后地争取与欧洲决策者接触，”同样出席峰会的萨姆森说道。“这看起来就像是特朗普政府又一次目光短浅的举动，意在挑拨与欧洲长期盟友的关系。”

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