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> the hard work of SpaceX to make cheap, reusable rockets an everyday reality Are they a reality?

• sneak 7y ago
  The F9 that launched 60 satellites this morning was on its third or fourth flight.
• kanox 7y ago
  SpaceX has ~80 launches and recovered the booster ~40 times so the technology is very real and fully operational. The "cheap" part is somewhat questionable because current prices are lower but still comparable to those of traditional providers. This is likely because fixed costs are high and there is limited demand from satellite operators. A big part of the reason SpaceX is jumping into the satellite business is to create demand for itself and fully exploit Falcon 9 technology.
• bisby 7y ago
  The launch today happened on the 3rd flight of the booster. They have a few cores now which have flown 4 times. At this point, prices are a coming down, and it is effectively assumed that any SpaceX core will fly at least twice. That covers cheap and reusable. Cheap at least compared to the market (I still can't afford it), and 2 flights is re-use. "Everyday" might be a stretch by the literal definition. But "commonplace" wouldn't be. No one gets super excited about re-flown cores anymore.