The key facts
- FT: Europe is unlikely to catch up with the US in the space race
- OneWeb Eutelsat has about 600 satellites versus more than 10,000 for Starlink
- Bloomberg: Europe accounts for about 10% of public and 22% of private investment in space
Lagging in satellite communications
Europe has fallen so far behind in the modern space race that it is unlikely to make up the lost ground, the Financial Times writes. In the outlet's view, Europe needs to improve satellite communications technology in an attempt to catch up with the US. FT notes that the European OneWeb system, owned by Eutelsat, has only 600 satellites in low Earth orbit, whereas the American Starlink has put more than 10,000 satellites into operation. The situation is complicated by the fact that countries and defense contractors within Europe have differing capabilities, the newspaper notes.
Bloomberg data on investment and launches
Earlier, Bloomberg also pointed to Europe's rapid falling behind in the global space race. According to the agency, Europe accounts for only about 10% of public and 22% of private global investment in the space industry, with more than half of the investment going to the US. Europe's market share in the production and launch of spacecraft has shrunk to roughly 6% from more than 20% in 2008. As an example, Bloomberg cites the European expendable Ariane 6 rocket, which has made only a few launches since last year, with the cost of a single flight estimated at more than $100 million. Over the same period, the reusable Falcon 9 of Elon Musk's SpaceX carried out more than 160 launches.
Unification of European companies
Earlier, European companies, as reported, decided to join forces in the hunt for rockets in space.
