NASA director Bill Nelson is not happy with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, now that it has emerged that the billionaire is said to have regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Elon Musk has been in ‘regular contact’ with Putin since 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today. The CEO of SpaceX is even said to have prevented his company’s Starlink satellites from operating over Taiwan at the request of the Russian president. That is seen as a favor from Putin to his ally, Chinese leader Xi Jinping. There are fears that China will invade Taiwan, as Russia did in Ukraine, and the absence of the satellite network would make such an incursion easier.
‘Very worrying’
NASA CEO Bill Nelson made the news during a conference responded. He says the matter needs to be thoroughly ‘looked into’. “If it’s true, and there have been multiple conversations between Elon Musk and the Russian president, that would be very concerning for NASA and the Department of Defense in particular,” Nelson said.
The NASA boss says that he has regular positive contact with SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell. Musk has left her largely in charge of the space company, Nelson says. But ultimately the billionaire pulls the strings.
SpaceX is crucial to NASA
NASA has become very dependent on SpaceX in recent years. The company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is currently needed by the space agency to reach the International Space Station. Nelson realizes that it is very risky if the CEO of SpaceX allows himself to be influenced by Putin, or possibly even reveals certain secrets to the great enemy of the US.
Meanwhile, the US is also investigating whether Musk is guilty of illegally influencing the presidential elections. The billionaire gave millions of dollars to people who signed a pro-Trump petition.
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Source: www.bright.nl
