WASHINGTON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- When U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Elon Musk in June and called for cutting federal ties with his companies, many dismissed it as political posturing.

But behind the scenes, the Trump administration quietly launched a sweeping review of federal contracts with Musk's businesses -- particularly SpaceX. What it found, however, was just how deeply embedded Musk's aerospace empire had become in U.S. government operations.

WHY DID TRUMP TRY TO CUT SPACEX TIES?

The feud erupted after Musk sharply criticized Trump's signature tax-and-spending plan -- dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill" -- warning that it could "bankrupt America." Musk even threatened to form a new political party in protest.

Trump fired back on his social media platform, Truth Social, accusing Musk of being the most heavily subsidized businessman in history and calling for the termination of his federal contracts.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the General Services Administration (GSA) swiftly directed multiple agencies -- including NASA and the Department of Defense -- to compile detailed "scorecards" of all current SpaceX contracts to assess whether alternatives existed and if taxpayer dollars could be saved.

WHAT DID CONTRACT REVIEW REVEAL?

Rather than justify Trump's push to sever ties, the review made the opposite case: the government's relationship with SpaceX was not only defensible -- it was essential.

According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal and DailyMail.com, the contracts under scrutiny were largely deemed critical to U.S. national security and space operations. SpaceX's dominance in launch capabilities and its leadership in low-Earth orbit satellite infrastructure meant few, if any, viable substitutes existed.

Alternative providers, including Boeing and Blue Origin, were reportedly still plagued by delays and technical hurdles, making them ill-equipped to match SpaceX's launch cadence or reliability. As The Daily Beast quoted one senior defense analyst, "There's no replacing SpaceX. You just do not have the capacity in our other launch options."

HOW DEPENDENT IS GOV'T ON SPACEX?

Extremely. SpaceX has received at least 21 billion U.S. dollars in federal payments to date, with an additional 13 billion dollars in awards in the pipeline, according to The Daily Beast. These contracts span satellite deployments, defense communications via the Starlink constellation, and cargo and crew missions for NASA.

In May, SpaceX launched an upgraded GPS satellite for the U.S. Space Force. A month earlier, it secured a 5.9-billion-dollar Pentagon contract for 28 national security missions -- by far the largest share of launches awarded. Blue Origin, by comparison, received just seven.

NASA also remains reliant on SpaceX's Crew Dragon -- the only U.S.-certified vehicle capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. WSJ reported that NASA officials grew concerned when Musk, amid his spat with Trump, briefly threatened to decommission the system.

WHY CAN'T GOV'T REPLACE MUSK?

For now, it simply can't. According to The Daily Beast, SpaceX currently accounts for 83 percent of all global satellite launches, and is the only player that can combine affordability, speed and proven technology at scale.

Even as the Trump administration tried to assess alternatives, the conclusion was inescapable: canceling SpaceX contracts would jeopardize critical defense and space missions. As WSJ reported, the GSA's own contract "scorecards" showed no other vendor could match SpaceX's pricing or execution in most cases.

And it's not just rockets. Musk's AI venture, xAI, also landed a controversial 200-million-dollar Pentagon contract to develop AI tools for military use -- despite public scrutiny after its Grok chatbot drew criticism for erratic behavior.

WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT TRUMP AND MUSK?

The clash marks a striking reversal in what was once a cooperative partnership. Musk had previously served as head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, a role focused on cutting wasteful spending. But the alliance frayed over policy disagreements -- and reportedly, over Musk's criticisms of Trump's handling of the Epstein case.

Despite Trump's public condemnation, SpaceX has continued to thrive. During the review process, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell reportedly held quiet meetings with White House officials to reaffirm the company's role in U.S. strategic infrastructure.

While political tensions may have intensified, the government's reliance on Musk's companies appears largely unchanged.

CAN U.S. AFFORD TO DITCH SPACEX?

Not anytime soon. Though rivals like Blue Origin are gaining traction, none have the launch cadence, operational record, or scale of SpaceX. While concerns over market concentration persist, industry analysts note that SpaceX remains a crucial partner for U.S. space operations.

As one analyst put it, even the most heated political fights must eventually yield to the unforgiving realities of physics, budgets -- and orbital mechanics. ■