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I'm assuming SpaceX is building the satelites too? Haven't heard anything about that.

• greglindahl 9y ago
  SpaceX seems to be pursuing their usual "let's bring stuff in-house as much as possible" strategy. If you think about it, no existing supplier can produce enough gear for this satellite constellation, so either SpaceX is paying a supplier to build an assembly line, or SpaceX can pay the supplier for tech and build a SpaceX assembly line.
  • infogulch 9y ago
    Plus existing suppliers manufacture under very different constraints than what SpaceX needs. They're launching many more satellites than typical and at greatly reduced payload cost than usual. E.g. they're using cheaper terrestrial solar panels and cheaper redundant commodity electronic components. The economics change when you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for every ounce you send to space.
    • foxyv 9y ago
      Yeah, you kinda got the impression that things were changing when Iridium was launching a 5 billion dollar satellite on a 50 million dollar rocket.
      • greglindahl 9y ago
        IridiumNEXT started with a budget of $2.1 billion for satellites and $800mm for launches. http://spaceflight101.com/spacecraft/iridium-next/ http://spaceflight101.com/spacecraft/iridium-next/ That's not that different of a ratio from a GEO comsat that costs $200mm and has a $65mm launch. I haven't run the numbers for OneWeb.