3 ms·
This is cool, but to put it in perspective, the Falcon Heavy (set to launch...tomorrow?) cost $90,000,000 with a 8,000 kg payload...this is about $5,000 / pound
by aerodog 9y ago
This is cool, but to put it in perspective, the Falcon Heavy (set to launch...tomorrow?) cost $90,000,000 with a 8,000 kg payload...this is about $5,000 / pound.
The Japanese one was $3,500,000 for 3 kg, or over $500,000 / pound.
My math kinda right? I'm ignoring that Elon's rocket is theoretically reusable 10+ times, so his number could be much lower.
- eesmith 9y agoWas the $3.5M just for the launch or also for the development costs? I think it was the latter, but I'm not easily able to find that answer. http://spaceflight101.com/ss-520-4-smallest-orbital-rocket-set-for-launch/ http://spaceflight101.com/ss-520-4-smallest-orbital-rocket-s... suggests a goal of $400,000, but doesn't specifically say if that estimate comes from this rocket design. That would still be more expensive per pound than a Falcon Heavy, but if you only wanted to put up 2kg then a FH is overkill.