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Personally I was more excited about the RocketLab launch. This to me feels like a variation on a theme. RocketLab was in may ways a breakthrough. First orbital
by toomanybeersies 9y ago
Personally I was more excited about the RocketLab launch. This to me feels like a variation on a theme. RocketLab was in may ways a breakthrough. First orbital launch from New Zealand and first orbital launch using electric turbopumps.
- avmich 9y agoI was sad when I learned they've launched half as much as Falcon-1 for (rumored?) almost twice more money spent some 15 years later. On the other hand, a good demonstration of composites - and yes, electropumps are a good opportunity which now is on the list of "already done".
- toomanybeersies 9y agoYes, their cost per kg for launching is higher than SpaceX. But it's their first launch from a new company. It's expected to cost some more to start with. I presume the price is going to come down quite significantly over the next few years. RocketLab will never be as cheap, but the business plan isn't to compete on price. The business model is that with smaller rockets you can have much higher launch cadence, much higher throughput (i.e. you can book a launch and have it launched a week later), and more customisable orbits (since it's cheaper to book out an entire launch).