Doge cuts allow Musk to cash in with SpaceX and Starlink contracts, ex-workers warn | Elon Musk

Elon Musk Former agency employees say it appears to be the basis for the privatization of some area of ​​satellites and satellites now under the authority of the National Department of Oceanic and Country (NOAA), or to direct profitable contracts towards Spacex and Starlink companies.

They look a stimulant because at least four other federal agencies have begun to push new contracts towards Musk Starlink Satellite Internet. Musk was assigned, the richest man in the world Donald Trump With the workforce and costs of the federal government significantly.

Raises Questions of conflicts of interests For one of Trump’s closest allies who supported him with millions of dollars in financing in the 2024 elections. Musk is proud that the so -called “government efficiency” (DOGE) “oblique spending”, but critics say he uses its position to direct government financing towards his companies.

NOAA can offer the biggest awards to MUSK, and the opportunity is presented to Spacex To obtain a financial advantage in the American commercial space market, it is expected to grow to a value of about $ 2 dollars during the next decade. The agency’s former employees say that Dougi is likely to obtain the secret business information of the competitors in Noa.

More importantly, for the public, it will put control of the country’s communications infrastructure in the hands of the right billionaire. Five former NOAA employees who spoke with the Guardian said that the NOAA activity quietly affects the basic functions of daily life, and everything from the mobile phone service that can be relied upon to how Americans connect to the Internet to predict the weather at stake.

“There is a lot of smoke, but we are not sure of the scene of the fire yet,” said a former employee. “We are waiting to see when the next shoe will fall.”

In the wake of the shooting out of the fire that merged some NOAA space operations, the investment company in Donald Trump Junior has been speculated before buying At a value of $ 50 million of SpaceX shares. NOAA works as part of the US Department of Commerce and is responsible for a set of economic activity that the public relies on. The Musk’s Dogy team has demobilized about 1,300 NOAA employees so far.

Spacex mainly releases missiles and satellites for musk and national governments. Meanwhile, Starlink owns approximately 6000 satellites in low -Earth orbit and provides a large -scale internet service via satellite and military communications to at least 2.7 million people in 100 countries.

Spacex is the largest player in the private space industry, and many former NOAA employees praised the company as a good partner often before Musk’s attack on the agency. Space Technology Company had a strong momentum before the new Trump administrationFormer employees said it is difficult to analyze what legitimate works are and what can be explained as corruption.

A new law of information in emergency situations to request For communications between the NOAA and Doug offices partially seeks to highlight these questions. The request of public officials of environmental responsibility (PEER) indicated that the agency’s privatization was long ago a goal of the right and was called in the Plant Wittlewing Project 2025.

“The danger is that the socios of the government can be transformed into government -sponsored monopolies, which will work without fear of prosecuting the anti -monopoly,” Whitehaus added.

New contracts for Starlink

The Federal Aviation Administration Command (FAA) ordered the employees in February to find tens of millions of dollars in financing new stars contracts, Traded stone I mentioned. The Federal Aviation Administration is in the process of updating the aging air traffic control networks, and last year gave a $ 2.4 billion contract to Verizon, but Starlink has already entered this process.

In the US government services management, Dog ordered federal employees using Starlink for Internet Services, employee NBC News said. Another agency plans to contract with Starlink, according to a federal employee who is familiar with the situation that spoke with NBC News. At the same time, customs and border protection Recently Evaluation from Starlink to help monitor borders.

Disputing the passage of evil space

The emerging emerging traffic coordination program runs thousands of satellites, debris and spacecraft, and helps prevent up to 50,000 subscriptions, which are called Conflunctions daily. Starlink calculates a large number of these.

Call The traffic system coordination system for space (Traccs), the program will also eventually provide launch and re -access services for commercial satellites and a spacecraft, former employees said. A former official said that Musk is already working closely with Trasats, but the program avoids “locking the seller” and shrinks with multiple companies, in a small part of it because the Musk agenda may not always match the nation.

“Spacex is a great service provider, but as long as it controls the company, it is not reliable,” said one of the former NOAA employees.

Those who spoke with the Guardian said that it does not seem that Spacex had any interest in privatizing or seizing Trasats before Trump’s re-election, but Dog MUSK launched all members of Traccs-in reality, paralyzing the process of touching it. The door can be opened for privatization, and Spacex is in a better position.

“They discover that something is broken and easily say:” Oh, we can fix this, “said a former NOAA employee.

The privatization of weather forecasts

NOAA satellites are used in the low -Earth orbit to predict the weather for three to seven days, and the data is provided for free for weather forecast providers such as Accoweather, and is used in aviation, shipping, defense and other critical industries.

Some companies want to take advantage of the data, and a little put it in a better position than Musk to descend or seize the contracts. A former employee said that the private industry data and its expectations are very poorly compared to those from NOAA.

NOAA weather satellite contains repetition and deliberately adopted the failure of failure, and a great effort is made to calibrate them with the weather on the ground: NOAA flies in storms to confirm that the data provided by its satellite satellites is accurate, for example.

The agency’s former employee said the data “is very reliable, 24/7, does not break down, no IFS, IFS or Buts. She added that NOAA satellites have failed, exploded or disrupted, so people who depend on that data, or may have caused serious economic damage.

One of the former employees said: “The risk of power outages is very important because this data is used all the time for everything, and for more than people they realize.”

In contrast, Musk has the task of getting rid of repetition and finding efficiency, and former agency employees indicated that missiles and satellites have a history of disruption and explosion.

Meanwhile, Noaa monitors space weather, including solar torches, fractures and radiation, and geomic magnetic storms that can harm the electrical network and communications on the ground and outside. It can have effects on the well -known Musk plans to colonize Mars.

“If you are serious about sending people to Mars, you should be able to monitor and respond to space weather.”

Radio

Spacex, Telecom Giants and other industries are pressed on the federal government to auction on valuable ranges on the radio frequency spectrum – electromagnetic waves that Empowering wireless communicationIncluding between the army, the CIA, and their satellites.

A former agency employee said that the mysterious job is necessary for a wide range of commercial activities, such as using mobile phones, and the industry “you want to put their hands on everything in its power” because it is a limited resource.

A large part of the Noaa expectations of the water vapor movement in the air stems in the air, and the agency has the radio frequencies in which the steam vibrates. if The alignment of musk FCC sells very close gangs of this frequency, potential interference can hinder satellite function, disrupts reliable weather and use a mobile phone.

Starlink wants more and more spectrum, and hope [the FCC] One of the employees said: “It will not be stupid enough for public auction outside the gangs next to the place where the water is shaken, but … I will not go beyond anyone.”