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Due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and the Chinese connection this cannot be a direct competitor to SpaceX. American payloads cannot fly

Due to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and the Chinese connection this cannot be a direct competitor to SpaceX. American payloads cannot fly on Chinese rockets and Chinese payloads can't fly on American rockets. The article does not mention Stoke Space. Aspire's approach is much closer to Stoke's than it is to SpaceX's. Stoke uses a "virtual aerospike", to oversimplify.

zardo 1mo ago
The vast majority of launches now are now commercial LEO satellite constellation. Would ITAR prevent Amazon from contracting with a Chinese launcher?
- dogma1138 1mo ago
  If their satellite is 100% ITAR free which is highly unlikely, possibly. And even then the US government can always find a reason with which to prevent them from doing so.
peri-cl 1mo ago
Not to mention the Russian connection. (The article mentions in passing, "Aspire already has a launchpad in Baikonur". The Russian state space agency, Roscosmos, owns the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Kind of an odd choice for a European Union[0,1] company). [0] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/aspire-space-technology https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/aspire-space-technol... [1] https://www.lbr.lu/mjrcs-web-front/consult-company/B283890 https://www.lbr.lu/mjrcs-web-front/consult-company/B283890
plugger 1mo ago
ITAR is for US persons ONLY. SpaceX services the global market, as does China. Sure, NRO won't be launching on a Chinese stack but it'd be a bit foolish to think commercial launch consumers wouldn't look at the top two launch providers to decide who they'll pay to launch their payload.
- bryanlarsen 1mo ago
  Many of the components inside European satellites are covered by ITAR. European satellites buy many components from American suppliers.
  - plugger 1mo ago
    In May SMILE was launched. It's a collaboration between ESA and CSA. I expect more of this to develop given the US trajectory currently.

zardo 1mo ago

The vast majority of launches now are now commercial LEO satellite constellation. Would ITAR prevent Amazon from contracting with a Chinese launcher?

dogma1138 1mo ago
If their satellite is 100% ITAR free which is highly unlikely, possibly. And even then the US government can always find a reason with which to prevent them from doing so.

peri-cl 1mo ago

Not to mention the Russian connection. (The article mentions in passing, "Aspire already has a launchpad in Baikonur". The Russian state space agency, Roscosmos, owns the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Kind of an odd choice for a European Union[0,1] company). [0] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/aspire-space-technology https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/aspire-space-technol... [1] https://www.lbr.lu/mjrcs-web-front/consult-company/B283890 https://www.lbr.lu/mjrcs-web-front/consult-company/B283890

plugger 1mo ago

ITAR is for US persons ONLY. SpaceX services the global market, as does China. Sure, NRO won't be launching on a Chinese stack but it'd be a bit foolish to think commercial launch consumers wouldn't look at the top two launch providers to decide who they'll pay to launch their payload.

bryanlarsen 1mo ago
Many of the components inside European satellites are covered by ITAR. European satellites buy many components from American suppliers.
- plugger 1mo ago
  In May SMILE was launched. It's a collaboration between ESA and CSA. I expect more of this to develop given the US trajectory currently.