The sticker on the windshield of a parked Tesla in the center of Paris says it all: “I bought this before Elon went nuts.” A similar geopolitical logic is sweeping through Europe when it comes to space, where a humiliating dependence on Elon Musk’s dominant technology helps defend vital territory in Ukraine but also allows the billionaire to troll Kyiv’s allies and empower Trumpian bullying. Yet successful alternatives will need more than a bumper sticker.
Governments and companies clearly want to get their act together after years of painful dependence on SpaceX Technologies Corp.’s reusable rockets and its Starlink broadband unit, whose temporary outage this week was felt on the Ukrainian front line. Airbus SE, Thales SA and Leonardo SpA hope to build a space champion. Next-generation rocket test flights are slated for next year. Satellite firm Eutelsat Communications SACA has been recapitalized and awarded new space contracts with the French military. The European Union is unlocking €6 billion ($7.1 billion) to fund a “sovereign” satellite network, Iris2.