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NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has expressed concerns over reports that SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nelson was on stage at Semafor’s World Economy Summit on Friday (Oct. 25) when he was asked about an Oct. 24 Wall Street Journal article, which reported that Musk has, in secret, been in regular contact with Putin since late 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February that year. The report cites former U.S., European and Russian officials.
“[SpaceX] have been phenomenally successful … I don’t know if that story is true,” Nelson said. “I think it should be investigated. If it’s true there have been multiple conversations with Elon Musk and the president of Russia, then that would be concerning, particularly for NASA and the Department of Defense,” Nelson said in response, Semafor reported.
Musk’s SpaceX is a crucial commercial partner for NASA. Its Falcon 9 rockets launch cargo and crew to the International Space Station. Its huge, in-development Starship vehicle is also integral to the agency’s bid to put astronauts back on the moon with the Artemis 3 mission in the coming years.
Related: SpaceX: Facts about Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company
Musk has recently criticized the Biden administration and has been campaigning for Donald Trump in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Nelson did not criticize SpaceX directly in the interview. He noted he had a strong working relationship with the company through chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell.
Musk has not commented on the reports of discussions with Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refuted the story, claiming that a single telephone call had taken place, before 2022, during which Musk and Putin discussed various technologies.