It is now. But Ariane 5 started first over 25 years ago (first launch 1996) with only 5 failures since. It had no failures between 2003 and 2017. That’s a solid reliability record…

A publicly funded agency isn’t going to win the economic race against SpaceX or other privately owned businesses. Ariane’s goal is to provide an independent alternative and bind talent. Their focus is reliability and precision (see JWST launch).

I don’t think the majority of players play the game that way. I think the development cycle is exemplary for a project of this scope. We need more games with such an structured and open approach.