SpaceXs reusable Falcon 9 is today the world's most flown rocket, a milestone in bringing down the cost of space transportation. It gives SpaceX a de facto monopoly on launch missions slinging payload like satellites into orbit. And that dominance extends to its own Starlink satellites, 6 000 of which orbit the Earth, offering high-speed internet almost anywhere.
You don't need to believe in Musk's visions of humanity on Mars or not-very-autonomous robot bartenders to see the power of vertical integration at work especially after Sunday's unprecedented "chopsticks" manoeuvre to recover the Starship rocket booster that's heralding even cheaper launches ahead.
Musk's rivals from Jeff Bezos to China are far behind, but it's Europe where space especially looks like a theatre of cruelty. The continent that once dominated commercial satellite launches with its Ariane programme - a symbol of industrial policy akin to Airbus - has lost its lead after initially mocking Musk and has even had to rely on SpaceX for blastoffs in recent years.
Meanwhile, establishment satellite firms Eutelsat Communications and SES have been eclipsed by the likes of Starlink and hurt by reliance on fading legacy businesses like beaming TV channels into homes in the age of Netflix. Painful restructuring is a theme Eutelsat and SES have merged with rivals and Airbus is planning as many as 2 500 defence and space job cuts. "The need for a major leap is becoming more pressing," according to think-tank Ifri.
Brussels' technocrats, as always, have some ideas on how to catch up - but there are so many issues it's hard to know where to start. The Mario Draghi report on European competitiveness offers as many as 10 proposals, from promoting space start-ups to cutting complexity in the EU's fragmented governance of space. The EU has also proposed a new satellite constellation project called IRIS as a way to spur investment yet while more government spending could be a driver of demand for the likes of Eutelsat, reckons Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies, the project has been delayed. There are also concerns about political willpower at a time when countries including France and Italy are engaged in fiscal belt-tightening. Meanwhile, Europe still lacks the key ingredient of its own reusable launcher and an integrated business like Starlink to go with it.
