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Cheap launches means means satellite prices will go down. Satellites were expensive before because why bust your ass to shave a few million off here and there w
by dwaltrip 5y ago
Cheap launches means means satellite prices will go down. Satellites were expensive before because why bust your ass to shave a few million off here and there when you are paying $200 million to launch the damn thing?
I believe this has already started happening. Of course, improvements in electronics technologies in general have played a huge role as well.
- myself248 5y agoAnd as a result of the extreme cost of launches, extreme care is taken to make the satellites themselves incredibly reliable. Which is part of why we're not in a full-on Kessler cascade yet. I wonder, if cheaper launches lead to downward pressure on satellite price and complexity, will that also involve downward pressure on testing and reliability? Will that lead to more dead satellites in orbit, more collisions, and a sudden end to the good old days? Does that suggest a need for regulatory requirements for reliability and control, which had previously been enforced by simple market dynamics?