{"id":22576,"date":"2021-08-26T18:31:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T10:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/alleged-leaked-ula-emails-paint-nasa-as-incompetent-and-spacex-favored-over-politics\/"},"modified":"2021-08-26T18:31:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T10:31:54","slug":"alleged-leaked-ula-emails-paint-nasa-as-incompetent-and-spacex-favored-over-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/alleged-leaked-ula-emails-paint-nasa-as-incompetent-and-spacex-favored-over-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Alleged leaked ULA emails paint NASA as \u2018incompetent\u2019 and SpaceX favored over politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"img-border featured-image wp-block-image--obfuscated\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1500\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=320&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=640&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1024&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1500&amp;quality=82&amp;strip=all&amp;ssl=1 1500w\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-attachment-id=\"11932\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2021\/04\/01\/ulas-rocketship-leaves-the-mississippi-river\/ula_rocketship_daryl_001\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png\" data-orig-size=\"6720,4480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"ULA_Rocketship_Daryl_001\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=1024\"><br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six internal emails were leaked this week that share statements from United Launch Alliance Vice President Robbie Sabathier to a lobbyist about NASA\u2019s \u201cincompetent\u201d leaders and favoritism towards SpaceX.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The emails leaked from the ULA employee also contain wild speculation that contracts awarded to SpaceX by NASA were tied to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk\u2019s inferred support for former President Trump.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-17830\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The statements go on to claim that NASA under the leadership of the previous administration favored companies that do not support unions.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cNASA HQ\u2019s A-Suite leadership is currently incompetent and unpredictable\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLarge NASA taxpayer investments are being thrown away due to the cozy relationship established by Trump political hacks throughout NASA\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite> Robbie Sabathier, Vice President of Government Operations and Strategic Communications<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure data-carousel-extra=\"{&quot;blog_id&quot;:10,&quot;permalink&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2021\/08\/25\/alleged-leaked-ula-emails-paint-nasa-as-incompetent-and-spacex-favored-over-politics\/&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\">\n<li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Open image in full-screen.\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1700\" height=\"2200\" data-attachment-id=\"17832\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2021\/08\/25\/alleged-leaked-ula-emails-paint-nasa-as-incompetent-and-spacex-favored-over-politics\/nasa-issues\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png\" data-orig-size=\"1700,2200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"NASA-issues\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=791\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?w=791\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"17832\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/?attachment_id=17832\" class=\"wp-image-17832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg 1700w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=232,300 232w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=768,994 768w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=791,1024 791w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=1187,1536 1187w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=1583,2048 1583w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=270,350 270w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=140,181 140w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=773,1000 773w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/NASA-issues.jpg?resize=150,194 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\"><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Open image in full-screen.\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1700\" height=\"2200\" data-attachment-id=\"17831\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/2021\/08\/25\/alleged-leaked-ula-emails-paint-nasa-as-incompetent-and-spacex-favored-over-politics\/musk-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png\" data-orig-size=\"1700,2200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"Musk\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/default-spaceexplored-related-guide.png?w=791\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?w=791\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"17831\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/?attachment_id=17831\" class=\"wp-image-17831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg 1700w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=232,300 232w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=768,994 768w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=791,1024 791w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=1187,1536 1187w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=1583,2048 1583w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=270,350 270w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=140,181 140w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=773,1000 773w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/Musk.jpg?resize=150,194 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1700px) 100vw, 1700px\"><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The recipient of the leaked emails, Hasan Solomon, who is a lobbyist for a large defense and aerospace union, agreed to raise these concerns with their contacts at a White House meeting in April. The timing of the leaked emails occurred around the same time Congress confirmed Bill Nelson as the new NASA Administrator and the selection of SpaceX\u2019s Starship as NASA\u2019s Artemis lunar lander.<\/p>\n<p>\t<span class=\"outbrain-ad-label\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<script type=\"text\/plain\">\n\t\t\twindow.adSlotsConfig = window.adSlotsConfig || [];<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tadSlotsConfig.push( {\n\t\t\t\tslotID: '\/1049447\/Outbrain',\n\t\t\t\tslotName: 'div-gpt-ad-outbrain-ad-17830',\n\t\t\t\tsizes: [300, 250],\n\t\t\t\tslotPosition: 'mid_article'\n\t\t\t} );\n\t\t<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response for a comment from Ars Technica, ULA declined to comment on the emails, but stated they are investigating the matter. They also claimed to \u201chave no evidence to suggest any ULA accounts or systems have been breached.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SpaceX has hurt the company that once held a monopoly on government launch contracts. ULA also lost to SpaceX in the Human Landing System contract as they were a member of Dynetics\u2019 team. ULA plans to bring a new launcher online that should be able to compete with SpaceX, but it has been delayed due to late engines from Blue Origin, who is leading a lawsuit against NASA over the HLS contract.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Musk has been relatively open about his dislike of ULA\u2019s business practices, this is the first time we\u2019ve seen any sort of attacks from the other side, if confirmed real. This puts a dark light on the company whose beloved CEO has been a champion of spaceflight cooperation between companies and their fans.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-want-to-help-support-space-explored\">Want to help support Space Explored?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shop on&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;to support Space Explored writers<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Directly support Seth by becoming a member of their&nbsp;Patreon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer-affiliate\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/08\/unistellar-telescope.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17371\" width=\"750\" height=\"150\"><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six internal emails were leaked this week that share statements from United Launch Alliance Vice President Robbie Sabathier to a lobbyist about NASA\u2019s \u201cincompetent\u201d leaders and favoritism towards SpaceX. The emails leaked from the ULA employee also contain wild speculation that contracts awarded to SpaceX by NASA were tied to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk\u2019s inferred [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}