Latest news with #SpaceX
New York Post
an hour ago
- Business
- New York Post
Elon Musk hits back at Trump after president said he didn't want to strip Tesla boss of subsidies
Elon Musk hit back at President Trump's claim that he didn't want to strip the mogul's companies of his government subisidies. Trump seemingly extended an olive branch after the public falling out between the two by denying reports that he had it out for Musk. 'Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. 'I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before!' Shortly afterward, Musk posted a pointed rebuttal on X, writing: 'The 'subsidies' he's talking about simply do not exist.' He added that Trump 'has already removed or put an expiry date on all sustainable energy support while leaving massive oil & gas subsidies untouched.' 4 Elon Musk has fired back at Donald Trump, publicly disputing the president's claims about subsidies for his companies. REUTERS 'SpaceX won the NASA contracts by doing a better job for less money. Moving those contracts to other aerospace companies would leave astronauts stranded and taxpayers on the hook for twice as much!' Musk wrote. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration initiated a review of government contracts with Musk's companies — though officials reportedly determined that canceling those deals were not feasible due to their importance to national security. 4 Musk on Thursday reacted to President Trump's Truth Social post in which he spoke of 'subsidies' enjoyed by the mogul's firms. REUTERS Government support has been instrumental in the growth and scale of Musk's ventures. His companies have secured over $38 billion in government funding since 2007, according to public records and contract data, with nearly two-thirds of that amount awarded in the past five years. The support spans federal, state, and local levels and includes contracts, subsidies, tax incentives and regulatory advantages. SpaceX, Musk's aerospace firm, is the largest recipient, benefiting from billions in NASA and Department of Defense contracts. The US Space Force recently awarded SpaceX a $5.9 billion contract for rocket launches and satellite operations through 2029. NASA has awarded SpaceX approximately $15 billion in contracts for cargo and crewed missions as of 2025. 4 Shortly afterward, Musk posted a pointed rebuttal on X, writing: 'The 'subsidies' he's talking about simply do not exist.' x/SawyerMerritt Starlink, the satellite internet provider under SpaceX, secured $6 billion in federal contracts between 2022 and 2023 to expand broadband access for rural and military users. Tesla has received more than $11 billion in regulatory credits and government incentives. The $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit alone is worth an estimated $1.2 billion annually to Tesla as of 2025. In addition, state and local governments have contributed at least $1.5 billion in grants and tax breaks for Tesla factories and battery development, primarily in California, Nevada and Texas. xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence company, was awarded a $200 million Department of Defense contract in July 2025 to develop AI technologies for national security and scientific use. Musk and Trump's alliance unraveled after the Tesla CEO criticized Trump's sweeping tax and spending law, known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' calling it a 'disgusting abomination' and warning it would exacerbate the national debt. 4 SpaceX, Musk's aerospace firm, is the largest recipient of government contracts, benefiting from billions in NASA and Department of Defense projects. Jennifer Briggs/ZUMA / Last month, Trump expressed disappointment and suggested reconsidering government contracts for Musk's companies. Musk fired back on social media, referencing allegations linked to Trump's appearance in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The feud spiraled from there, with Trump publicly attacking Musk's character and Musk floating the idea of forming a new political party.
BBC News
an hour ago
- Business
- BBC News
Starlink react afta network glitch, as Musk order shutdown of Starlink satellite service for territory wey Ukraine retake from Russia
Billionaire Elon Musk don tok sorry afta Starling bin experience outage wia service bin go off and users no fit access am. Plenti users bin compain of how dem no fit use dia Starlink as dia internet no work again and dem wondr wetin cause am. Starlink confam say tru tru dia network go off and dem bin dey work to bring am back and solve di issue. "Starlink dey currently for network outage and we dey actively implement solution." Di new generation of Starlink owned by SpaceX satellites dey provide fast internet around di world. Di satellites dey provide broadband internet around di world, especially for remote places, wey include some kontris for Africa and challenging environments like Ukraine and Yemen. Dem also dey use am to connect remote areas of di UK to fast internet. For 2022, tests bin show say Starlink fit deliver internet speeds four times faster dan di average internet, according to di Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Howeva, afta di Starlink network go off Musk say dem dey work to restore am and e no go happun again. "Service go dey restored shortly. Sorry for di outage. SpaceX go remedy root cause to ensure say e no happun again," Musk tok for X. Wetin cause Starlink outage? According to Michael Nicolls, VP of Starlink Engineering, na internal software service bin cause di outage wey make network go off. E say dem don restore di network and dem dey work to find wetin cause am so e no go happun again. "Starlink don dey mostly recova from di network outage, wey last for about 2.5 hours. Di outage na sake of failure of key internal software services wey dey operate di core network," Nicolls tok for X. Starlink for dia own reply say dem sabi how important e dey to dey connected, and dem beg say make pipo no vex for di kasala. How big Starlink presence be for Africa? Starlink dey operate for more dan 20 African kontris, wit Somalia, wey dey suffer from Islamist insurgency - give am10-year licence on 13 April, two days bifor Lesotho decide to give dem too. Starlink dey provide high-speed internet services to remote or underserved areas, e be a potential game-changer for rural areas wey no fit access traditional forms of connectivity such as mobile broadband and fibre. Dis na beco Starlink, instead of relying on fibre optics or cables to transmit data, dey use a network of satellites for low Earth orbit. Becos dem dey closer to di ground, dem get faster transmission speeds dan traditional satellites. Nigeria na di first African state to allow Starlink to operate, for 2023. Di company since dat time don grown into di second-biggest internet service provider for di most-populous kontri for Africa. But Starlink no still get any presence for South Africa - di most industrialised nation for di continent. Enterprising locals bin don find way to connect to di service by using regional roaming packages wey dem bin buy for kontris wia di service bin dey available. Starlink end am last year while Icasa bin also warn local companies say anybody wey dem catch, wey dey provide di service illegally fit face hefty fine. Yet wit an estimated 20% of South Africans not having access to di internet at all - many in rural areas - e fit dey beneficial for both Starlink and di goment to reach a compromise. For Starlink e fit bring more market, while satellite broadband fit help di goment achieve dia goal of providing universal internet access by 2030. Report say Musk order shutdown of Starlink satellite service for Russia-Ukraine war A Reuters report say during a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory from Russia for late September 2022, Elon Musk bin give order wey disturb di counteroffensive and reduce Kyiv trust for Starlink. Di report say Starlink na di satellite internet service wey di billionaire provide early for di war to help Ukraine military maintain battlefield connectivity. According to three pipo wey dey familiar wit di command, dem tell Reuters say Musk bin tell one senior engineer for di California offices of SpaceX, di Musk venture wey dey control Starlink, to cut coverage for areas wey include Kherson, a strategic region north of di Black Sea wey Ukraine bin dey try to reclaim. "We gatz do dis," Michael Nicolls, di Starlink engineer, tell colleagues as e receive di order, one of dis pipo tell Reuters. Di report say staff bin obey, di three pipo tell Reuters, say dem deactivate at least hundred Starlink terminals, dia hexagon-shaped cells go dark for internal map of di company coverage. Di move bin also affect oda areas wey Russia seize, including some of Donetsk province inside east. According to di report, sake of Musk order, Ukrainian troops suddenly face communications blackout, according to wetin one Ukrainian military official, advisor to di armed forces, and two odas wey experience Starlink failure near di front lines. Soldiers bin panic, drones wey dey survey Russian forces bin go dark, and long-range artillery units, wey dey rely on Starlink to aim dia fire, struggle to hit targets. As a result, di Ukrainian military official and di military advisor say, troops bin fail to surround a Russian position for di town of Beryslav, east of Kherson, di administrative center of di region of di same name. Meanwhile, Ukraine counteroffensive bin succeed to reclaim Beryslav, di city of Kherson and some additional territory wey Russia don occupy. But Musk order, wey neva dey previously reported, na di first instance of di billionaire actively shutting off Starlink coverage ova a battlefield during di conflict, Reuters report. Reuters report say Musk and Nicolls no respond to dia requests for comment. But one SpaceX tok tok pesin say through mail say wetin di news agency bin report dey "inaccurate" and refer reporters to X post earlier dis year wia di company say: "Starlink dey fully committed to provide service to Ukraine." Di office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and di kontri Ministry of Defence no respond to Reuters requests for comment. Starlink still dey provide service to Ukraine, and di Ukrainian military rely on am for some connectivity.
USA Today
an hour ago
- Business
- USA Today
Could this California company challenge SpaceX's Falcon 9? What to know about Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab has increasingly been in the news over mounting anticipation for the first launch of its upcoming Neutron rocket. Rocket Lab, a spaceflight company based in California, has spent years building up a reputation as a reliable launch service provider for small satellites. Now, though, the venture has its sights set on bigger targets: Procuring some of those lucrative government and commercial contracts that have long been the domain of Elon Musk's Texas-based SpaceX. Maybe you've heard about Rocket Lab's diminutive Electron launch vehicle, which the company bills as the second-most active rocket in the U.S. Or maybe you've heard about its next-generation Neutron spacecraft, which could soon be making its inaugural flight from Virginia. Whichever may be the case, here's everything to know for those interested in Rocket Lab and its future plans for spaceflight. What is Rocket Lab? Rocket Lab is a launch service provider and spaceflight company founded in 2006 and based in Long Beach, California. The company operates out of three launch pads at two launch sites, including one in New Zealand and two in Virginia at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Rocket Lab Neutron launch date Rocket Lab has increasingly been in the news over mounting anticipation for the first launch of its upcoming Neutron rocket. The satellite launch vehicle is central to Rocket Lab's plans to shift from small satellite deployments to missions with heavier payloads. But when exactly the Neutron rocket could make its orbital debut has yet to be determined. Rocket Lab continues to work through a checklist of requirements before Neutron can get off the ground for its maiden flight. That includes integrating – or stacking – the rocket stages and getting its commercial launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the company's first-quarter earnings presentation provided to the USA TODAY Network. The good news? Construction on infrastructure at the launch pad is on schedule, according to the report. Earlier in July, Rocket Lab also announced that the company had awarded a contract to shipbuilder Bollinger Shipyards to support the build of a 400-foot ocean landing platform named "Return On Investment." But the challenge for Rocket Lab will be in transporting the components of the Neutron to the facility, according to the website TechCrunch. The vehicle must be shipped in segments to Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 3 in Virginia, where it will be fully mated as a rocket. Could Neutron challenge SpaceX, Falcon 9? Many space industry analysts have said that Neutron could emerge as a credible challenger to SpaceX's Falcon 9 in the medium-lift launch market. Rocket Lab is developing the Neutron rocket – which already has contracts with the Department of Defense – for commercial, civil and military space operations. That includes satellite constellation deployments, cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station and interplanetary missions. The arena is one that SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk in 2002, has dominated for years with its Falcon 9 rocket – one of the most active rockets in the world. The Falcon 9 is routinely the rocket of choice to launch NASA astronaut missions to the International Space Station and is the exclusive launch provider for Musk's Starlink satellite deliveries. At 141-feet-tall, Neutron is smaller in stature than SpaceX's two-stage, 230-foot Falcon 9. But like the Falcon 9, Neutron is designed to be reusable so that it can launch more frequently. Its design features an integrated system that brings Neutron's first stage and payload fairings back to Earth as a single stage. Capable of delivering about a 14-ton (more than 28,600 pounds) payload to low-Earth before landing, Neutron is powered by Rocket Lab's newly developed Archimedes engine. Rocket Lab's emergence also comes at a time of mounting public discord between Musk and President Donald Trump. What is Rocket Lab's Electron rocket? Rocket Lab has already spent years reliably launching its smaller Electron rocket to deliver small satellites and other payloads to orbit for civil and commercial contractors. At 59 feet tall, Electron is capable of carrying just 661 pounds of cargo to space, according to Rocket Lab. A version of the rocket is also tailored for Rocket Lab's hypersonic HASTE launches. One of the two launch complexes where Electron can launch is right next door to the Neutron's new launch complex. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, the Electron has delivered more than 200 satellites to orbit and become one of the most frequently launched U.S. rockets, second only to the Falcon 9, according to Rocket Lab. In June alone, the Electron launched four times on both government and commercial missions, according to Rocket Lab. The most recent mission came June 28 when the Electron launched a single satellite to space for "a confidential commercial customer," Rocket Lab announced in a press release. The mission was the second of two launches from the same launch site in less than 48 hours, a new launch record for the company. Is Rocket Lab a good stock to buy? Whether to invest Unlike SpaceX, Rocket Lab is publicly traded. While Rocket Lab's stock is up 800% over the past year, according to Forbes, the company is not yet profitable. "A lot hinges on Rocket Lab's ability to evolve its revenue model and reach sustained profitability," Sasirekha Subramanian, an equity research content expert, wrote for Forbes. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@
CNET
an hour ago
- Business
- CNET
Starlink Acknowledges Software Failure Behind Outage of Satellite Internet Service
Starlink VP of engineering Michael Nicolls tweeted that the service has "now mostly recovered from the network outage" after two and a half hours. "The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network. We apologize for the temporary disruption in our service; we are deeply committed to providing a highly reliable network, and will fully root cause this issue and ensure it does not occur again," the tweet, posted at 3:23 p.m. PT, says. Musk had tweeted at news of the initial outage: "Service will be restored shortly. Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again."
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Straits Times
SpaceX probes for cause of Starlink's global satellite network outage
Find out what's new on ST website and app. A 2022 photo shows Ukrainians using a Starlink terminal after Russia's retreat from the Ukrainian city of Kherson. SAN FRANCISCO - SpaceX's Starlink satellite network was back up and running on July 25 as engineers hunted for the root cause of one of its biggest international outages the night before, a rare disruption for the powerful internet system set off by an internal software failure. Users in the US and Europe began experiencing the outage at around 3pm EDT on July 24 (3am on July 25 in Singapore), according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker that said as many as 61,000 user reports to the site were made. In Ukraine, where troops rely heavily on Starlink for battlefield communications, the outage affected combat operations as service was 'down across the entire front,' said Major Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine's drone forces. Starlink, active in roughly 140 countries and territories and used by a growing number of militaries and government agencies, is a key source of revenue for Mr Elon Musk's SpaceX. The network has grown rapidly since 2020 into a disruptive force in the satellite communications industry. Starlink acknowledged the outage on its X account on July 24 and said 'we are actively implementing a solution.' The service mostly resumed after 2.5 hours, Mr Michael Nicolls, SpaceX vice-president of Starlink Engineering, wrote on X. By 8pm, the company wrote on X that the 'network issue has been resolved, and Starlink service has been restored.' 'The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,' Mr Nicolls said, apologising for the disruption and vowing to find its cause. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore S'pore could have nuclear energy 'within a few years', if it decides on it: UN nuclear watchdog chief Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body Singapore Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions Singapore Fine for couple whose catering companies owed $432,000 in salaries to 103 employees Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly Mr Musk also apologised: 'Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again,' the SpaceX chief executive officer wrote on X. The outage was a rare hiccup for SpaceX's most commercially sensitive business. Experts speculated whether the service, known for its resilience and speedy development, was beset by a glitch, a botched software update or perhaps a cyberattack. Mr Doug Madory, an expert at the internet analysis firm Kentik, said such a sweeping global outage was unusual. 'This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider,' Mr Madory said. As Starlink amasses more than six million users, SpaceX has focused in recent months on updating its network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth. The company, in a partnership with T-Mobile, is also expanding the constellation with larger, more powerful satellites to offer direct-to-cell text messaging services, a line of business in which mobile phone users can send emergency text messages through the network in rural areas. SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fiber-based internet. 'I'd speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack,' said Dr Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity laboratory at Cornell University. An update to CrowdStrike's widely used cybersecurity software led to worldwide flight cancellations and impacted industries around the globe in July 2024. The outage disrupted internet services, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. It was unclear whether the July 25 outage affected SpaceX's other satellite-based services that rely on the Starlink network. Starshield, the company's military satellite business unit, has billions of dollars' worth of contracts with the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies. Separately, Reuters reported on July 25 that Mr Musk ordered a partial shutdown of Starlink during a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory in its war with Russia in late September 2022. REUTERS
