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Elon Musk SpaceX's company sent a letter to Edward Gresser, the US Commerce Department official, in which he accuses Arianespace, its French and European subsidies, of unfair competition, and asks the US state to include the space industry in trade negotiations with the European Union. Xavier Pasco, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research, a specialist in US space policy, explains why SpaceX's request goes badly in Europe.
RFI : Why did this letter spark such strong reactions among European and French space industry players ?
Xavier Pasco: SpaceX took off thanks to strong support from NASA, being one of the companies selected to carry freight transport to the space station. This public bonanza was worth billions of dollars and allowed SpaceX's economic balance. It began in 2006, with the Commercial Orbital Transportation Service, and then other contracts that SpaceX has applied for without having many competitors. For a company like SpaceX being built, it was the very condition of its growth.
So we understand today the reaction of Europeans who are a little outraged: SpaceX criticizes the public subsidy to Ariane but in reality the firm of Elon Musk exists only because it has itself had public subsidies. It's not at all shocking or unusual as a scenario, the same thing happened for Boeing for example, with the war effort. But suddenly, the criticism towards Europe and France may seem surprising.
Why did Elon Musk's group send this letter ?
I think there is a double reason for SpaceX's position: there is a discussion in Europe right now about the financing of launchers and the space industry. In particular, there will be a Council of the European Space Agency at the end of the year to discuss the future of this funding. For SpaceX this is a way to increase the pressure on this discussion, with member states that may have different views on the level of funding.
And then SpaceX, at the end of last year, did a fundraiser that was not a big success. Of the 500 million they tried to raise, they raised just over half. SpaceX is on the economic front a company looking for a little today. SpaceX is a company that seeks to establish itself as a dominant player in the space sector and in a certain way. It is a company that has been filling up on the American government market, which is by far the largest market, and which is now looking to complete its business by looking more closely at the conditions of access to the commercial market.
Europe is a soft target, as there is no real agreement on a European launch preference for European countries to use the Ariane launcher. Germany, for example, is launching some of its satellites on SpaceX. All that can, from the point of view of SpaceX contribute to weaken the European edifice is therefore something positive.
Does this letter have any consequences, in your opinion ?
There may be political consequences on the American side, with the use of this letter, to escalate the tension between the United States and Europe, but I do not think it will be a priority point of contention. This is a bit like the rivalry Airbus and Boeing , which never really ended but never prevented the two big producers of aircraft to do their business.