The Pentagon and NASA have reportedly reached out to several rival aerospace companies in an effort to encourage the development of alternative spacecraft and rockets to reduce reliance on Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Azernews reports, citing the Washington Post.

According to the information, the move comes amid strained relations between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — a dynamic that has raised concerns within the U.S. government about overdependence on a single private space contractor.

U.S. officials have initiated contact with at least three companies: Rocket Lab, Stoke Space, and Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Jeff Bezos. The outreach aimed to assess the capabilities of their rockets and determine how soon they could be deployed for government missions.

The effort reflects a broader push by federal agencies to diversify their partnerships in the space sector and ensure uninterrupted access to launch services for national security and scientific purposes.