Peter Beck, a New Zealand engineer who has long claimed to oppose Musk, said his company is building the right business mix and hopes to break SpaceX's monopoly on technology in space.

Beck founded an aviation and satellite launch service company in 2006. $Rocket Lab (RKLB.US)$ The company is preparing to launch a reusable medium launch vehicle called the Neutron, which Beck called the last piece of the puzzle in creating an end-to-end space system.

Beck pointed out that half of the development of the Neutron rocket is to break SpaceX's monopoly in the field of medium-sized rocket launches, and the other half is to be able to launch Rocket Lab's satellites into orbit. He said the company has the expertise and execution power to become a strong competitor to SpaceX.

He further explained that unless a company has its own rocket and has the ability to build any spacecraft, no one can compete with Musk's SpaceX in establishing a network similar to Starlink in space.

Intense Competition

Currently, launch vehicles still focus on launching small satellites, with more than 200 companies competing for market share. Rocket Lab's Electron small launcher is a major participant, having launched nearly 200 satellites so far.

However, compared to small rockets, medium rockets have higher carrying efficiency. For example, the Falcon 9 rocket can launch 10 or 15 1,000 kg satellites at a time, which is much more efficient than small rockets launching one satellite at a time. In addition, medium rockets are very flexible and can perform many different types of missions, which is why Rocket Lab is dedicated to gaining a foothold in this area.

The Neutron rocket was originally scheduled to launch by the end of 2024, but the plan has been delayed. Last year, Rocket Lab CFO Adam Spice ambitiously said the goal is to bring satellite customer costs down to the same level as SpaceX, around $50-55 million, while SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launch service costs $67 million.

Once this goal is achieved, it means that the huge satellite launch market will be completely open to Rocket Lab. According to statistics, over the past decade, SpaceX has accumulated launch contracts worth $14.7 billion from the US federal government.

However, in reality, Rocket Lab still has a long way to go to catch up with SpaceX. There are reports that the regular launch price of the Falcon 9 rocket is around $3,000 per kilogram, while Rocket Lab's launch price is $22,000 per kilogram, which is significantly higher than SpaceX's quote.

Rocket Lab is not the only company trying to break into the market for larger rockets. The Lockheed Martin and Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance completed the test flight of its heavy Vulcan rocket in January, the European Space Agency-supported Ariane 6 rocket also delivered its first flight last week, and Bezos-backed Blue Origin is preparing to launch the reusable large launch vehicle New Glenn in September.

This is also related to the push from governments around the world. Earlier this year, a group of US Congress members wrote to the US Air Force Secretary, calling for increased competition between satellite launch providers.

At least for now, almost everyone is happy to see SpaceX surrounded.

Editor/Somer