On September 11, 2023, during the World Satellite Business Week conference, Vikram Nidamaluri, Managing Director of Telecom, Media and Entertainment at Lazard, talks on a panel.
- ESSENTIAL POINTS
- A Lazard investment banker raised concerns about Elon Musk’s SpaceX monopoly on the rocket launch business.
- “Having a launch provider that is so dominant is probably not good for the industry’s commercial prospects overall. Nobody wants a monopoly to choke off a single link in the value chain, Lazard managing director Vikram Nidamaluri said on Monday at the World Satellite Business Week conference.
- Due to delays, American rivals are h
- aving difficulty putting next-generation operational rockets on the market. A number of other U.S. businesses are striving to launch alternatives to SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon rockets.
PARIS – As the market waits for American rivals to start launching new vehicles, a Lazard investment banker raised concerns about Elon Musk’s SpaceX dominating the rocket launch business. “I think it’s a huge concern,” At a panel discussion on Monday at the World Satellite Business Week conference, Vikram Nidamaluri, managing director of telecom, media, and entertainment at Lazard, remarked.
“Having such a dominant launch provider is probably not healthy just in general for the commercial prospects of the industry,” Then Nidamaluri came. Nobody wants a monopoly to suffocate a particular link in the value chain. Other players are undoubtedly increasing their capability, but in my opinion, the schedule hasn’t advanced quickly enough.
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Concerns about a rocket launch monopoly made by other members of the space business this year were repeated by Nidamaluri. A possible bottleneck in the transportation of expensive satellites, spacecraft, and personnel into orbit is the launch of rockets. Due to delays, American rivals are having difficulty putting next-generation operational rockets on the market. A number of other U.S. businesses are striving to launch alternatives to SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon rockets.
The business has already surpassed last year’s record of 61 flights while flying at a scorching rate of a launch every four days. A few days ago, SpaceX launched its 63rd mission of 2023. Outside of the American rocket market, SpaceX consistently ranks first globally in both launches and spacecraft mass delivered to orbit. In terms of satellite and astronaut launches, the firm alone keeps the United States in front of China, the next closest geopolitical rival.
spacex vice president statement
During a different panel at World Satellite Business Week on Monday, SpaceX Vice President Tom Ochinero addressed Nidamaluri’s worry by phrasing it in terms of whether the rocket manufacturer would carry satellites of rivals to its Starlink satellite broadband business. We’ve proven that, yeah, we will,” Ochinero said. We’re a launch company first, we’re here to provide launches.”
Ochinero pointed out that while Starlink is undoubtedly SpaceX’s “big internal customer,” the business has occasionally pushed launches for its own satellites “out of the way to provide launches for competitors and customers.” In addition to previously launching satellites for rivals of Starlink Communications including OneWeb, Viasat, and EchoStar, SpaceX has agreed to launch 14 missions for Canadian operator Telesat to bring its Lightspeed internet satellites to space.
We are here to launch, so I’m not too concerned about this, Ochinero stated.
During the same panel, Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, refuted the notion that SpaceX had complete control over the launch business. With just two launches performed so far in 2023, ULA, traditionally the next-largest U.S. rocket rival, is preparing to launch its next-generation Vulcan rocket for the first time in the near future. “I appreciate the sentiment that [SpaceX] will be a benevolent monopoly, I don’t think you’re a monopoly and I don’t think it’s our plan for you to become one,” Bruno said.
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