The Trump administration pressured U.S. space companies not to attend a high-profile space summit in Paris organised by French President Emmanuel Macron, prompting a last-minute reshuffle and the cancellation of some planned announcements, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy held a call last week with several U.S. space companies due to attend the summit on 9-10 September.
Officials warned that their participation could be seen as support for European policies opposed by Washington, four sources said.
The summit will bring together government and industry leaders as European countries increase investment in civil and military space programmes and seek to reduce their reliance on U.S. companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Although White House officials did not explicitly tell companies to stay away, they strongly discouraged attendance, the sources said.
Some announcements planned between European and U.S. companies have since been cancelled. SpaceX will also no longer attend, one source said.
The White House said the Trump administration remained committed to working with allies and partners on space-related issues.
France has said the International Space Summit will bring together political leaders, industry representatives and scientists from around 120 countries to discuss areas including space security, exploration and scientific missions.
President Macron's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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