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SpaceX is a great company in many metrics: valuation, reusable rockets, astronaut transport, Wi-Fi for Ukraine. One metric that may not be noticeable is capacity. No one can match SpaceX’s ability to deliver payloads into orbit. This is the huge scale advantage that Elon Musk’s space company is building.
On Sunday, United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a 50/50 space launch joint venture.
boeing
(ticker: BA) and
lockheed martin
(LMT) sends an Atlas V rocket into orbit, silent barker mission. It is a joint mission of the National Reconnaissance Service and the U.S. Space Force to “improve space domain awareness.”
The third time was a charm. A second attempt was canceled on Saturday after problems were discovered during a “pre-launch weapon circuit continuity test.” The first attempt was weather-proof.It’s hard to boot with Tropical cyclone.
You can watch the launch replay here.
Startup is scrubbed. That’s no surprise. Space requires incredible precision and care. Still, ULA will fly eight times in 2022 and two in 2023.
SpaceX will fly more than 60 times in 2022 and more than 60 so far in 2023.
SpaceX has a big lead even though ULA has never been the best in space. The company has launched more than 150 of his missions to date and calls itself “the most experienced and trusted launch service provider in the country.”
We may have to concede the title of “Most Experienced” to SpaceX, which has more than 260 launches. Aside from the missions it flew in-house to put Starlink satellites into orbit, SpaceX has made roughly 150 to 160 more for third-party customers, such as shuttle astronauts to and from the International Space Station in reusable space capsules. Mission completed.
boeing
ULA also has a contract with NASA to take astronauts to the space station, but Boeing’s Starliner space capsule has not yet been fully certified. Boeing and SpaceX simultaneously won their first contracts for crew transport in 2014.
Starlink satellites and their missions are definitely important to SpaceX.There are approximately 4,000 Starlink satellites It orbits the Earth and provides space-based Wi-Fi for rates starting at around $120 per month. ULA is also in his space-based Wi-Fi game. The satellite is launched by
amazon.com’s
(AMZN), a competing Wi-Fi business called Project Kuiper. ULA plans to launch Kuiper’s “proto-flight” in late September.
However, capacity will eventually become an issue for Kuipers trying to capture Starlink. The company has contracted three space-launch providers to deliver satellites: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, ULA, and Europe’s Arianespace, which have yet to enter orbit.
Ariane is a joint venture with:
saffron
(SAF.France) and
airbus
(Air France). The 18 Kuiper launch contract, signed in 2022, is Arianespace’s largest ever. SpaceX has launched 18 missions in the last 48 days.
ULA speaks Barons We are expanding our capabilities to meet the needs of our customers. But the company and its group of providers will have a long way to go before they can match SpaceX’s massive launch capabilities.
Elon Musk’s rocket company will remain an important gatekeeper to space for many years to come.
Email Al Root (allen.root@dowjones.com).