I’m not sure how to feel after reading this article, simply because I don’t think it offered enough data to make a reasoned conclusion. I think we can agree that industry monopolies are not a good thing. The question is, has SpaceX simply cracked the code to cheap launch or are they using monopolistic practices to squeeze out the competition (ie operating on a loss with the intent of bankrupting companies with less capital) ?
Other companies are working on reuse, but they haven’t gotten anything up and running.
Neutron, Terran R, and New Glenn will have reusable 1st stages. New Glenn will probably fly first in the next year or two, but we’ll see how long it takes them to reuse a stage.
Stoke is the only one I know of working on reusable upper stages. They actually hopped a prototype of their upper stage not too long ago.
If anything the biggest risk of monopoly in this industry probably comes from the fact that governments control all access to the marketplace. Only the players the government approves are allowed to enter, so if a big player like SpaceX wanted to suppress competition its most effective path would be gaining control of the regulatory processes to simply deny competitors’ requests for sky access.
Good old regulatory capture and ladder pulling.
I kind of wonder if they’re already doing this to an extent with AFTS and satellite brightness.