Unintentional Dominance: The Accidental Monopoly

Rocket Lab, a leading player in the small launch market, suffered a setback when its 41st Electron mission failed to reach orbit. The failure has highlighted the lack of launch options for small satellite developers, leaving Rocket Lab as the dominant player in the Western small launch market. This has raised concerns about the emergence of a monopoly, with SpaceX already being seen as the monopolist in the launch market. Some argue that SpaceX has acted anti-competitively by offering low-cost Transporter missions, pricing out other launch providers. However, SpaceX customers are satisfied with the company's pricing and availability. To restore competition, other launch companies are ramping up production and planning to offer alternatives to SpaceX's Falcon rockets.