Paris prosecutors say they requested information about algorithm, not private data, from Musk's X
The office said X has not officially responded to its request.
Elon Musk's X denounced the investigation as politically motivated earlier on Monday.
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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
This was supposed to be the year China started catching up with SpaceX
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Chinese officials are alarmed by SpaceX, which they viewed as inextricably linked with the Pentagon. HONG KONG - China's two biggest networks have deployed less than 1 per cent of their planned satellites, records show, a measure of how far they are falling behind Elon Musk's company SpaceX for dominance in space communications. Satellites in low-Earth orbit, up to 1,200 miles above the planet, are increasingly seen as essential for driverless cars, drone warfare and military surveillance. China regards Starlink as a military threat, and Chinese companies have invested heavily in two huge networks, with nearly 27,000 satellites planned between them. One reason for the unexpectedly slow pace is that the Chinese companies have not cleared a key engineering hurdle. The first network, or megaconstellation, Qianfan, was scheduled to have about 650 satellites in space by the end of 2025. But records show that the company behind the network, Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co., has put only 90 satellites in orbit since its launches began in August. The other megaconstellation, Guowang, is even further behind. Despite plans to launch about 13,000 satellites within the next decade, it has 34 in orbit. SpaceX has about 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit and is expanding its lead every month , according to data from US Space Force and CelesTrak, a nonprofit group that gathers space data. Chinese officials are alarmed by SpaceX, which they viewed as inextricably linked with the Pentagon even before Mr Musk's short-lived position in the Trump administration. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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They envision a time when Starlink satellites connect US military bases and serve as an early missile-warning and interception network. Though Starlink is intended for civilian use, it has become essential for communications and coordinating drone strikes in the war in Ukraine. And SpaceX has contracts with the US government to build and launch satellites, some for espionage and others for targeting enemies and tracking missiles. SpaceX also launches satellites built by other defense contractors. China's space agencies and its aerospace companies did not respond to requests for comment. China, like the United States, recognizes the national security value of being in space. But the government is also encouraging commercial space interests and says it expects to create a US$344 billion (S$441 billion) market. 'Exploring the vast universe and building a space power is our unremitting space dream,' China's top leader, Xi Jinping, said last year, according to government news media. It has not gone smoothly. China hasn't solved a key rocket problem. SpaceX has. One of the major reasons for China's delay is the lack of a reliable, reusable launcher. Chinese companies still launch satellites using single-use rockets. After the satellites are deployed, rocket parts tumble back to Earth or become space debris. But SpaceX's workhorse rocket, the Falcon 9, is partly reusable. The rocket's bottom portion, containing the main engines, returns to Earth upright, intact and ready to be deployed for the next mission. That drastically reduces costs and speeds up the time between launches. This is the innovation that propelled SpaceX far ahead of competitors. Falcon 9 rockets have been used in about 500 missions, according to SpaceX. Six years after the Falcon 9 began launching Starlink satellites, Chinese firms still have no answer to it. Reusable rockets must withstand extreme heat during their return to Earth. They also have to be stable and under control, with engines that can restart in different aerodynamic conditions, said Dr Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks objects in space. 'The question is not just recovering them,' Dr McDowell said, 'but recovering them in a good enough state to launch them again'. The lack of a reusable rocket is not the only limitation. Manufacturing satellites is a complicated and time-consuming endeavor, and establishing a steady launch cadence is tricky even with reusable rockets. It took SpaceX years to work out the kinks. But experts said that the race for a reusable rocket was central to the future of the Chinese low-Earth orbit constellations. One Chinese government-funded model, the Long March 8, was meant to be reusable. But its developer, China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, abandoned that plan. An improved version, the Long March 8R, could 'grow up' to be a reliable Falcon 9 equivalent, McDowell said. The government has tested nearly 20 rocket launchers in the Long March series. Another potential launcher alternative is the Zhuque-3, made by the Chinese firm Landspace. The launcher conducted a liftoff-and-recovery test last year and, in another test this June, its engines fired for 45 seconds. A third alternative, the Tianlong-3, had a setback in 2024. The rocket took off briefly during what was supposed to be a static test and exploded upon impact. While the Chinese firms could have a technological breakthrough as early as this year, it will still take them time to get to a reliable cadence, said Mr Andrew Jones, a journalist who has monitored Chinese space launches for the past decade. 'They have to work out the kinks,' Mr Jones said. That hasn't stopped China from marketing its satellite services. Chinese space companies are drumming up business in countries where governments are wary of relying on Starlink satellites or looking for better prices. Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co. says it is negotiating with 30 countries over contracts for access to its Qianfan megaconstellation. The company signed a deal to provide internet in Brazil in 2024, soon after a Brazilian judge froze Starlink's local assets in a dispute with another Musk-owned company, X. Spacesail has other agreements to provide internet in Thailand and Malaysia and has set up a local subsidiary in Kazakhstan. Its services, however, are yet to come online. In fact, 13 of its 90 satellites did not reach the correct height of orbit, for unclear reasons. This means that they are most likely not functional, Dr McDowell said. The satellite internet contracts now under negotiation could become an important feature of economic diplomacy 'in a world that is moving from free trade to a more protectionist and more autonomy-based order,' said Mr Joao Falcao Serra, a research fellow at the European Space Policy Institute. A country's decision to sign contracts with Starlink could be seen as 'a message to the US and to China' about where its allegiances lie, he said. There could still be a record number of Chinese launches in 2025. Private and government-run companies in China conducted more than 30 launches in the first half of 2025, a faster pace compared with 2024. The missions have put about 150 satellites and two spacecrafts in space, according to official announcements and data compiled by US Space Force. That includes launches into low, medium and farther orbits. Still, Chinese companies will need to pick up the pace. This is especially true for the megaconstellations, which risk losing the right to operate on their radio frequencies. A constellation has to launch half of its satellites within five years of successfully applying for its frequencies, and complete the full deployment within seven years, according to rules set by the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency that allocates frequencies. The Chinese megaconstellations are behind on these goals. Companies that fail to hit their targets could be required to reduce the size of their megaconstellations. Experts say that it is unwise to write them off. Satellite launches in China tend to accelerate in the second half of 2025. And a technological breakthrough could radically transform the landscape. This year and next could signal the transition from Starlink's dominance to a more competitive field, McDowell said. NYTIMES
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
EU, US strike biggest trade deal
TURNBERRY, United Kingdom: The United States and European Union on Sunday (Jul 27) clinched what President Donald Trump described as the "biggest-ever" deal to resolve a transatlantic tariff stand-off that threatened to explode into a full-blown trade war. Trump emerged from a high-stakes meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland to announce that a baseline tariff of 15 per cent would be levied on EU exports to the US. The deal, which the leaders struck in around an hour, came as the clock ticked down on an Aug 1 deadline to avoid an across-the-board US levy of 30 per cent on European goods. "We've reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody. This is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity," said Trump. Trump said the 15 per cent tariff would apply across the board, including for Europe's crucial automobile sector, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. As part of the deal, Trump said the 27-nation EU bloc had agreed to purchase "US$750 billion worth of energy" from the US, as well as make US$600 billion in additional investments. Von der Leyen said the "significant" purchases of US liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would come over three years, as part of the bloc's bid to diversify away from Russian sources. Negotiating on behalf of the EU's 27 countries, von der Leyen had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual US$1.9 trillion in goods and services. "It's a good deal," the EU chief told reporters. "It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she said. She said bilateral tariff exemptions had been agreed on a number of "strategic products", notably aircraft, certain chemicals, some agricultural products and critical raw materials. Von der Leyen said the EU still hoped to secure further so-called "zero-for-zero" agreements, notably for alcohol, which she hoped to be "sorted out" in coming days. Trump also said EU countries, which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO, would be purchasing "hundreds of billions of dollars worth of military equipment". "BEST WE COULD GET" The EU has been hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House. It is currently subject to a 25 per cent levy on cars, 50 per cent on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 per cent, which Washington threatened to hike to 30 per cent in a no-deal scenario. The bloc had been pushing hard for tariff carve-outs for critical industries from aircraft to spirits, and its auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, is already reeling from the levies imposed so far. "Fifteen percent is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get," acknowledged von der Leyen. Any deal will need to be approved by EU member states, whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission Sunday morning. They were set to meet again after the deal struck in Scotland. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rapidly hailed the deal, saying it avoided "needless escalation in transatlantic trade relations". The EU had pushed for a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota into the US before tariffs would apply. Trump appeared to rule that out, saying steel was "staying the way it is", but the EU chief insisted later that "tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place" for steel. "THE BIG ONE" While 15 per cent is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods, which average around 4.8 per cent, it mirrors the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10 per cent. Had the talks failed, EU states had greenlit counter tariffs on US$109 billion of US goods including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from Aug 7. Trump has embarked on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world, and has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not reach a pact with Washington by Aug 1.
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
EU, US strike 'biggest-ever' trade deal
TURNBERRY, United Kingdom: The United States and European Union on Sunday (Jul 27) clinched what President Donald Trump described as the "biggest-ever" deal to resolve a transatlantic tariff stand-off that threatened to explode into a full-blown trade war. Trump emerged from a high-stakes meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland to announce that a baseline tariff of 15 percent would be levied on EU exports to the US. The deal, which the leaders struck in around an hour, came as the clock ticked down on an Aug 1 deadline to avoid an across-the-board US levy of 30 percent on European goods. "We've reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody. This is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity," said Trump. Trump said the 15-percent tariff would apply across the board, including for Europe's crucial automobile sector, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. As part of the deal, Trump said the 27-nation EU bloc had agreed to purchase "US$750 billion worth of energy" from the United States, as well as make US$600 billion in additional investments. Von der Leyen said the "significant" purchases of US liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would come over three years, as part of the bloc's bid to diversify away from Russian sources. Negotiating on behalf of the EU's 27 countries, von der Leyen had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual US$1.9 trillion in goods and services. "It's a good deal," the EU chief told reporters. "It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she said. She said bilateral tariff exemptions had been agreed on a number of "strategic products," notably aircraft, certain chemicals, some agricultural products and critical raw materials. Von der Leyen said the EU still hoped to secure further so-called "zero-for-zero" agreements, notably for alcohol, which she hoped to be "sorted out" in coming days. Trump also said EU countries, which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO, would be purchasing "hundreds of billions of dollars worth of military equipment." 'Best we could get' The EU has been hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House. It is currently subject to a 25-percent levy on cars, 50 percent on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 percent, which Washington threatened to hike to 30 percent in a no-deal scenario. The bloc had been pushing hard for tariff carve-outs for critical industries from aircraft to spirits, and its auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, is already reeling from the levies imposed so far. "Fifteen percent is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get," acknowledged von der Leyen. Any deal will need to be approved by EU member states, whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission Sunday morning. They were set to meet again after the deal struck in Scotland. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rapidly hailed the deal, saying it avoided "needless escalation in transatlantic trade relations". The EU had pushed for a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota into the United States before tariffs would apply. Trump appeared to rule that out, saying steel was "staying the way it is", but the EU chief insisted later that "tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place" for steel. 'The big one' While 15 percent is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods, which average around 4.8 percent, it mirrors the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10 percent. Had the talks failed, EU states had greenlit counter tariffs on US$109 billion of US goods including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from Aug 7. Trump has embarked on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world, and has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not reach a pact with Washington by Aug 1.
