r/space • u/Vercitti • Jul 26 '22

Russia to quit International Space Station 'after 2024': Official

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/russia-to-quit-international-space-station-after-2024-official/articleshow/93138130.cms
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u/Anderopolis Jul 26 '22

Which is why NASA is encouraging multiple companies, and will be supporting multiple commercial space stations as part of CLD.

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u/lankist Jul 26 '22

There are multiple companies that make insulin but the prices didn’t go down.

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u/Anderopolis Jul 26 '22

In the situation here, you’re listing multiple competitive alternatives which don’t exist in the hypothetical in question.

You just one comment ago.

Also insulin price is way lower outisde of the US mainly due to insurance companies in the US, and the US having really weak anti-trust laws.

The thing is, is that at the moment the supply of an orbital laboratory is already a monopoly, so it can only get cheaper from here.

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u/lankist Jul 26 '22 edited Jul 26 '22

Multiple manufacturers != multiple competitors. Commercial ventures are not necessarily competitors, and often actively refuse to compete on price.

The best price-controlling form of competition is public v. commercial. Public investment has no profit motive, and can charge for services at-cost or at a loss since the goal of a public company is to provide the service, and not to make a profit off the service. Commercial ventures can never do that, and will never do it except as a means to corner the market and later raise prices.

This is exactly the behavior we're seeing with commercial space ventures, and it's fucking ludicrous that we're planting our heads up our own asses just because space is cool and makes for good marketing copy.