Stefan Israel recalled that the main European competitors are the American company SpaceX, as well as China.
Speaking on Saturday at an economic forum in Aix-en-Provence, France, Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel said that massive launches of satellite constellations and large financial investments in the US space industry could lead to a significant preponderance in favor of American companies in the market. space launches, and Europe must join forces to create competition.
“SpaceX is our main competitors,” he stated, noting that, in addition to the United States, China is also Europe’s main competitor in space. “Every two weeks, 60 new satellites launched by SpaceX appear over our heads. If Europe does not react quickly enough, one day we will get a situation where one company will dominate the rest. We need rules, and we can’t leave the US with a monopoly on the regulatory framework. Access to orbit can be difficult. In addition, there are environmental and frequency challenges, so Europe should take part in such discussions. We need coordinated actions in the field of industry and public policy”.
The head of Arianespace noted that the United States allocates five times more funds for the space industry than European countries, which contributes to “the emergence of private companies with billions of dollars in assets.” The key to Americans’ success in the space industry right now is expanding cooperation between the “long-brewed” space industry and technology companies in Silicon Valley, spiced with abundant government funding, he said.
“Even NASA is now taking the position of reducing intervention and prefers to buy services, as it has been since the beginning of the history of SpaceX,” stated Israel.
As examples, he cited manned orbital flights, on which billions are spent in the United States, while Europe is forced to buy seats on Russian and American ships. He also reiterated the presence of the US satellite constellations, which are “created with private money, but under government procurement”, without naming, however, specific companies or projects.