"SpaceX provides the only vehicle that astronauts use to get on and off the International Space Station. In the last quarter of 2023, a jaw-dropping 90 percent of pounds sent into orbit were put there by SpaceX. As Stoller notes, by any reasonable standards that makes it “a monopolist in launching satellites.” And SpaceX’s operation of the Starlink service turns the existence of a heavily state-subsidized private space program (which is bad enough) into something far worse. Whatever you think of the war in Ukraine, for example, it’s absurd that Elon Musk’s personal decisions about sharing Starlink terminals with the Ukrainian military make a real difference to the course of that war. Starlink being owned by SpaceX, and SpaceX being owned by Musk, means that a single oligarch de facto gets to set his own privatized foreign policy.
Steve Bannon, of all people, has made the very reasonable suggestion that the Defense Production Act could be used as a legal basis for nationalizing SpaceX. Bannon, of course, is an archreactionary, and he’s only floated a temporary takeover “until we can get some stable management.” But why shouldn’t we just have this key part of the space program (...)?
None of the usual arguments against nationalization hold much water in this case. SpaceX isn’t one firm among many jostling to get ahead in a vibrantly competitive marketplace. It’s a behemoth that, as of last September, owned two-thirds of the satellites in space and a ridiculous share of internet traffic, and it’s been repeatedly accused of monopolistic practices. Nor are the company’s profits organically created by the free market. Any story about SpaceX as a font of private innovation because it’s free from state interference would be hard to square with the economic reality of the many billions it’s reaped from its numerous contracts..."
https://jacobin.com/2025/06/musk-trump-nationalize-spacex-starlink/
#USA #Trump #Musk #DOGE #SpaceX #StarLink #Nationalization
Miguel Afonso Caetano /
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2025-06-07 14:17:57
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"content": "\"SpaceX provides the only vehicle that astronauts use to get on and off the International Space Station. In the last quarter of 2023, a jaw-dropping 90 percent of pounds sent into orbit were put there by SpaceX. As Stoller notes, by any reasonable standards that makes it “a monopolist in launching satellites.” And SpaceX’s operation of the Starlink service turns the existence of a heavily state-subsidized private space program (which is bad enough) into something far worse. Whatever you think of the war in Ukraine, for example, it’s absurd that Elon Musk’s personal decisions about sharing Starlink terminals with the Ukrainian military make a real difference to the course of that war. Starlink being owned by SpaceX, and SpaceX being owned by Musk, means that a single oligarch de facto gets to set his own privatized foreign policy.\n\nSteve Bannon, of all people, has made the very reasonable suggestion that the Defense Production Act could be used as a legal basis for nationalizing SpaceX. Bannon, of course, is an archreactionary, and he’s only floated a temporary takeover “until we can get some stable management.” But why shouldn’t we just have this key part of the space program (...)?\n\nNone of the usual arguments against nationalization hold much water in this case. SpaceX isn’t one firm among many jostling to get ahead in a vibrantly competitive marketplace. It’s a behemoth that, as of last September, owned two-thirds of the satellites in space and a ridiculous share of internet traffic, and it’s been repeatedly accused of monopolistic practices. Nor are the company’s profits organically created by the free market. Any story about SpaceX as a font of private innovation because it’s free from state interference would be hard to square with the economic reality of the many billions it’s reaped from its numerous contracts...\"\n\nhttps://jacobin.com/2025/06/musk-trump-nationalize-spacex-starlink/\n\n#USA #Trump #Musk #DOGE #SpaceX #StarLink #Nationalization",
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