

SpaceX
SpaceX competitor Arianespace criticized for lackluster response to Falcon 9’s success
Best known for the commercial success of its Ariane 5 workhorse rocket, European aerospace cooperative Arianespace was heavily critiqued in the latest annual report from France’s Cour des comptes (Court of Auditors) for what is perceived as an unsustainable and overly cautious response to the swift rise of SpaceX’s affordable and reusable Falcon 9 rocket.
The Ariane 6 rocket is at least a year from launch, but already French auditors are asking how it's going to compete with SpaceX.https://t.co/7jCpGBrSXx
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) February 6, 2019
First spotted and discussed by Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, the French auditor’s 2019 report featured a full volume – 1 of 30 – dedicated to Ariane 6, a prospective next-gen Arianespace rocket selected for development by the EU in 2014. Despite the fact that Ariane 6 is at least a full year away from its first launch, Cour des comptes is already questioning the rocket’s ability to successfully make headway into an increasingly competitive market, competition that has already had a direct and tangible impact on Arianespace’s Ariane 5 launch vehicle.
“More than 50% of Falcon 9’s lifetime launches occurred in the last ~12% (24 months) of the rocket’s operational career.”
While other competitors certainly do exist, the fact remains that that said increase in launch market competition can be almost singlehandedly attributed to the rapid entrance of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket onto the commercial launch scene. Despite major stumbles in 2015 and 2016 as a result of Falcon 9’s CRS-7 and Amos-6 failures, SpaceX appears to have dealt with the organizational faults that allowed them to occur, culminating in an auspicious launch cadence over the course of 2017 and 2018. While Falcon 9 has technically been flying since mid-2010, a full 38 of the rocket’s 64 successful launches were completed in the last 24 months, meaning that more than 50% of Falcon 9’s launches have occurred in the last ~12% of the rocket’s operational life.
Critically, a number of European nations settled on Ariane 6 as the successor to Ariane 5 in 2014, at which point Falcon 9 had launched just 13 times (7 times commercially) and SpaceX was more than 12 months away from its first successful rocket recovery and ~30 months from its first commercial reuse. To the credit of Arianespace and the EU nations that supported the prospective Ariane 5 successor, Ariane 6 may have actually been able to reliably compete with Falcon 9’s pricing if it had begun launching within 12-24 months of the 2014 decision to build it and if SpaceX had simply sat on its laurels and ended development programs.
“This new launcher does not constitute a sustainable response in order to be competitive in a commercial market in stagnation,” the auditor’s report states. The Ariane 6 rocket design is too “cautious,” according to the report, relying on mostly traditional technologies.
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) February 6, 2019
Coasting on the race track
Of course, neither of those prerequisites to Ariane 6’s success occurred. SpaceX successfully reused the same Falcon 9 booster three times in just six months by the end of 2018, while Falcon Heavy is set to attempt its first two operational launches just a few months from now. Ariane 6 is still targeting a launch debut no earlier than (NET) 2020, while a handful of extremely limited reusable rocket R&D programs continue to limp towards nebulous targets with minimal funding. Meanwhile, thanks to Arianespace’s French heritage and the major financial support of French space agency CNES, Cour des comptes is in the right to be highly critical of a ~$3.9B rocket development program likely to cost France at least $600M before the first launch.
- SpaceX has now been routinely reusing Falcon 9 rockets on commercial missions for nearly two years. (SpaceX)
- As of January 2019, flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters have performed 19 commercial launches since March 2017. (SpaceX)
- Nearly 60% of SpaceX’s 2018 launches were flown on flight-proven Falcon 9 boosters. (SpaceX)
- Falcon 9 B1046 became the first SpaceX booster to launch three separate times in early-December 2018. (Pauline Acalin)
Once Ariane 6 is ready to launch, it’s aspirational pricing will all but guarantee an inability to compete on an even global playing field. Divided into two versions, A62 and A64, Ariane 6 will cost at least 75 million Euros (~$85M) for performance equivalent to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in its reusable configuration (base price: $62M), while the heavier A64 variant – capable of placing two heavy satellites (11,500 kg) into geostationary transfer orbit – will cost at least 90 million Euros (~$102M) per launch. Admittedly, $102M to launch a duo of large geostationary satellites would be easily competitive with Falcon 9 with per-customer costs around $50M, but this only holds true if the imminent commercial introduction of Falcon Heavy (list price: $90M) is ignored.
However, the market for large geostationary satellites has plummeted into the ground in the last two years, over the course of which just 12 have been ordered. Arianespace thus faces a conundrum where its cheaper Ariane 62 rocket is already too expensive to compete commercially and the potentially competitive Ariane 64 variant is only competitive for a commercial launch market that has withered to barely a third of its nominal demand in just two years time. Acknowledged by France’s auditors (and noted by Mr. Berger), the most probable outcome for Ariane 6 is one in which the very existence of the rocket will be predicated upon continual annual subsidies from the European Space Agency (ESA) in order to make up for the rocket’s inability to sustain commercial orders beyond a handful of discounted shoo-in contracts.
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News
SpaceX is partnering with chipmakers to enable Starlink satellite-to-cell service
President Gwynne Shotwell outlined the effort during a space industry conference in Paris.

SpaceX is working with microchip manufacturers to integrate satellite-connectivity hardware into smartphones, advancing its plan for direct-to-device services through Starlink.
The move follows the company’s $17 billion acquisition of wireless spectrum from EchoStar Corp., a deal that positions SpaceX to operate more independently of traditional telecom carriers.
President Gwynne Shotwell outlined the effort during a space industry conference in Paris this week, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Starlink direct-to-device
Starlink currently serves millions of customers in over 100 countries, primarily through ground-based dishes. The company, however, is now expanding into satellite-to-cell service, which should enable unmodified phones to connect directly with orbiting satellites. While SpaceX has a partnership with T-Mobile US, the EchoStar spectrum purchase gives it more control to negotiate with global carriers on its own terms.
“We’re working with chip manufacturers to get the proper chips in phones,” the SpaceX President stated. “We will now be initiating discussions with telcos in a different way now. Now it’s our spectrum, but we want to work with them, almost providing capacity and wholesaling capacity to their customers.”
The company plans to launch satellites capable of supporting its direct-to-device business within two years, with early mobile phone testing expected by late 2026.
Starship program continues test flights
Shotwell also addressed SpaceX’s Starship program, which recently completed its 10th test flight in August. She said the mission met all objectives, providing a critical morale boost to teams after a challenging development year.
“My Starship team needed that win,” Shotwell noted. “Development programs always are kind of a 24/7 operation, and I was really pleased for them.”
SpaceX is planning to fly one more iteration of the current Starship prototype, known as V2, before transitioning to the next-generation V3 vehicle. That version, expected to debut late this year or early 2026, is designed to be more capable and support eventual crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.
“The V3, which we want to fly hopefully late this year, but maybe early next year, is really the vehicle that could take humans to the moon and Mars,” Shotwell stated.
News
U.S. Judge dismisses lawsuit against SpaceX Starship Boca Chica launch site
The ruling found that the FAA had met its obligations in reviewing the potential environmental effects of Starship launches.

A U.S. district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by conservation groups challenging the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval of SpaceX’s expanded rocket launch operations in Boca Chica, Texas.
The ruling, issued Monday, found that the FAA had met its obligations in reviewing the potential environmental effects of Starship launches.
FAA review withstands legal challenge
The lawsuit centered on whether the FAA properly assessed the impact of SpaceX’s operations on endangered wildlife, including ocelots, jaguarundis, and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, as noted in a report from The Guardian. The plaintiffs argued that noise, light pollution, and construction activity degraded the surrounding habitat, which also serves as nesting grounds for threatened shorebirds.
The lawsuit cited SpaceX’s April 2023 Starship test, which destroyed its launchpad and scattered debris across a large area. The blast reportedly ignited a grassfire and damaged wildlife habitats, including a bobwhite quail nest.
Judge Carl Nichols, for his part, ruled that the FAA had satisfied its obligation“to take a hard look at the effects of light on nearby wildlife.” The decision effectively cleared a regulatory hurdle for SpaceX, which has been working to expand Starship launch activity at its Boca Chica facility.
A continued ramp
SpaceX continues to scale its operations nationwide. Beyond Starship, the company is also seeking approval to nearly double Falcon rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, from 50 annually to 95.
Former President Trump has also shared his intention to increase U.S. launch capacity, setting a target for substantial growth by 2030. Considering that SpaceX is by far the world’s dominant launch provider, Trump’s support for more launches will likely benefit the private space company.
For now, at least, the ruling should allow continued expansion at a time when Starship remains central to long-term goals such as Mars missions and NASA’s Artemis program.
Elon Musk
SpaceX to expand Central Texas facility with $8M Bastrop project
Bastrop is already the site of several Elon Musk-led ventures.

SpaceX is set to expand its presence in Central Texas with an $8 million project to enlarge its Bastrop facility, as per state filings.
The 80,000-square-foot addition, which is scheduled to begin construction on September 24 and wrap in early January 2026, was registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and initially reported by My San Antonio.
New investment
Bastrop is already the site of several Elon Musk-led ventures. The upcoming expansion will extend SpaceX’s office at 858 FM 1209, near Starlink’s operations and The Boring Company’s facilities. Just down the road, X is housed in the Hyperloop Plaza at 865 FM 1209.
SpaceX’s expansion reflects a steady buildup of resources in Bastrop since the private space firm established its presence in the area. The addition was praised by Tesla Governor Greg Abbott, who wrote on X that the expansion will “bring more jobs, innovations and will strengthen Starlink’s impact worldwide.”
State support
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $17.3 million state grant to SpaceX for an “expansion of their semiconductor research and development (R&D) and advanced packaging facility in Bastrop.” The project is expected to create more than 400 new jobs and generate over $280 million in capital investment.
Following the grant award, the Texas Governor also noted that SpaceX’s facility would be growing by 1 million square feet across three years to boost its Starlink program. SpaceX’s Starlink division is among the company’s fastest-growing segments, with the satellite internet system connecting over 6 million users and counting worldwide.
Recent reports have also indicated that Starlink has struck a deal with EchoStar to acquire 50 MHz of exclusive S-band spectrum in the United States and global Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) licenses. This should pave the way for Starlink to provide 5G coverage worldwide, even in remote areas.
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