A Lazard investment banker expressed worry about the overwhelming presence of Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the rocket launch industry. Speaking at the World Satellite Business Week conference, Vikram Nidamaluri, managing director of telecom, media, and entertainment at Lazard, emphasized that having a single dominant launch provider could have negative consequences for the industry’s commercial prospects. He stated that relying on a monopoly could stifle competition and hinder progress, as other players in the market struggle to catch up with SpaceX’s capacity.

Nidamaluri’s concerns echo those raised by others in the space industry regarding the potential for a rocket launch monopoly. Rocket launches play a crucial role in deploying valuable satellites, spacecraft, and astronauts into orbit. While several U.S. companies are working on developing their own rockets to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon rockets, delays have hindered their progress, leaving American rivals struggling to introduce next-generation operational rockets.

Recently, SpaceX achieved a significant milestone by completing its 63rd mission of 2023, surpassing last year’s record of 61 missions. The company has been launching rockets at an impressive rate of one launch every four days. In addition to dominating the U.S. rocket market, SpaceX leads the world in terms of both the number of launches and the mass of spacecraft delivered to orbit each quarter. This dominance allows the United States to maintain its lead over China, its closest geopolitical competitor, in satellite and astronaut launches.

Tom Ochinero, SpaceX Vice President, addressed Nidamaluri’s concerns during a separate panel at the World Satellite Business Week. He emphasized that SpaceX is primarily a launch company and is committed to providing launches for its customers, including competitors. While SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service is a significant internal customer, Ochinero stated that they have adjusted their launch schedule to accommodate launches for other companies. SpaceX has previously launched satellites for competitors such as Telesat, OneWeb, Viasat, and EchoStar.

Ochinero dismissed concerns about SpaceX becoming a monopoly, stating that their focus is on their core function of launching rockets. Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, another major U.S. rocket competitor, also disputed the idea that SpaceX has complete control over the launch market. Bruno highlighted that ULA has completed two launches in 2023 and is actively working on the inaugural launch of its next-generation Vulcan rocket in the near future.