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On the plus side, SpaceX is making launches much bigger and cheaper, which will make space-based telescopes much more affordable. Cheaper launches = more, cheap
by maccam94 7y ago
On the plus side, SpaceX is making launches much bigger and cheaper, which will make space-based telescopes much more affordable. Cheaper launches = more, cheaper satellites.
- Ididntdothis 7y agoThat's good but I am not sure if the launch cost is where the money goes for telescopes.
- ecpottinger 7y agoYou are right, but also wrong. Because the launch cost so much you spend even more move on the space telescope because you want it to work for a very long time to get the best value for your money. And since you are going to spend so much money to launch it, you also add extra hardware to do other type of observations, so the cost of the telescope balloons upward but you are get more bang for the buck. If on the other hand you have cheap launches then you can send up the minimum telescope needed since you can always send up a better one or even a very different one if you later discover the need. Today because of high costs, we need to design the scopes to meet all the possible needs we can think of and afford, result very expensive space scopes.
- Ididntdothis 7y agoI guess we would have to look at the actual costs and trade offs. Personally I am still not convinced that launch cost is the biggest problem but I am sure astronomers are crunching budget numbers right now and will adjust plans if it makes sense.
- astrodust 7y agoA ground-based telescope will always be way cheaper than one in orbit. Why make this more expensive than it needs to be? Researchers are already strapped for cash.