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> And... insurance. To add to everything else already mentioned, when launch price goes down, it suddenly becomes feasible to build much cheaper satellites: bo
by Denvercoder9 6y ago
> And... insurance.
To add to everything else already mentioned, when launch price goes down, it suddenly becomes feasible to build much cheaper satellites: both because you can afford to build them heavier, and you can take more risk. That reduces insurance costs.
- bserge 6y agoThat's an interesting thought. I wonder what advances could be made to satellites if they were allowed to make them twice as heavy, for example.
- sandworm101 6y agoNone. If you want a heavier satellite you simply have to pay proportionally more to launch it. Nobody outside of government agencies comes anywhere close to the maximum load of a single super heavy launch, and even that "battleship" approach to satellites is giving way to smaller devices. So the mass isn't really the limiting factor, rather it is cost. Doubling of launch weights for a price, being able to launch at a 50% discount, won't result in any spectacular technology. What will happen is that big communication satellites will be given large fuel tanks, longer service lives, that ironically might reduce the number of needed launches of large satellites to geostationary orbit. NASA will be able to more cheaply explore the solar system. While people wanting to launch on the cheap will benefit, they generally won't have the funds to push any technological boundaries.