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USD2021$15M per Falcon 9 launch (re-used, assuming first launch was paid for by a customer) [0] 60 Starlink satellites per Falcon 9 launch [1] = + USD2021$250

by ethbr0 5y ago

USD2021$15M per Falcon 9 launch (re-used, assuming first launch was paid for by a customer) [0] 60 Starlink satellites per Falcon 9 launch [1] = + USD2021$250,000 in launch costs per satellite (+ manufacturing / ops costs) [0] https://www.elonx.net/how-much-does-it-cost-to-launch-a-reused-falcon-9-elon-musk-explains-why-reusability-is-worth-it/ https://www.elonx.net/how-much-does-it-cost-to-launch-a-reus... [1] https://space4peace.org/starlink-gears-up-to-launch-nearly-1300-satellites-in-just-6-months/ https://space4peace.org/starlink-gears-up-to-launch-nearly-1...

Ottolay 5y ago
As a reference a new Cessna 172 is $432,000 [1] and that is not a high tech aircraft. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2021/04/28/prices-for-new-general-aviation-aircraft-may-be-pricing-pilots-out-of-the-market/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2021/04/28/prices-fo...
- runarberg 5y ago
  This feels like comparing potatoes and pineapples. A new Cessna vs a used Falcon 9 launch hardly seems like a fair comparison. The cost of the rocket is written off as externalized. The actual satellites are not factored in at all. Really what we are comparing here is the cost of an operation vs the cost of an airplane. The economics still seem dubious.
  - sfblah 5y ago
    And a Cessna 172 has to be human safe.
    - runarberg 5y ago
      Indeed, and the $432,000 is the price on the consumer market. A mass order of Zephyrs by, say, the British Government is sure to land a much smaller price tag per unit then a lone hobby pilot can expect when buying a single airplane.
rlt 5y ago
On top of this, if Starship is successful ("fully and rapidly reusable") it could bring the launch cost down another order of magnitude. And because Starlink is building thousands of satellites it has economies of scale that no previous satellite/spacecraft had.
- Breza 5y ago
  If Airbus is successful, you'd have to compare SpaceX's scale to a similarly massive manufacturing operation of solar-powered aircraft. And you could theoretically make money from multiple sources since the aircraft could carry multiple pieces of equipment. You could make money from being an ISP and from selling imaging services.

by ethbr0 5y ago

Ottolay 5y ago

As a reference a new Cessna 172 is $432,000 [1] and that is not a high tech aircraft. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2021/04/28/prices-for-new-general-aviation-aircraft-may-be-pricing-pilots-out-of-the-market/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2021/04/28/prices-fo...

runarberg 5y ago
This feels like comparing potatoes and pineapples. A new Cessna vs a used Falcon 9 launch hardly seems like a fair comparison. The cost of the rocket is written off as externalized. The actual satellites are not factored in at all. Really what we are comparing here is the cost of an operation vs the cost of an airplane. The economics still seem dubious.
- sfblah 5y ago
  And a Cessna 172 has to be human safe.
  - runarberg 5y ago
    Indeed, and the $432,000 is the price on the consumer market. A mass order of Zephyrs by, say, the British Government is sure to land a much smaller price tag per unit then a lone hobby pilot can expect when buying a single airplane.

rlt 5y ago

On top of this, if Starship is successful ("fully and rapidly reusable") it could bring the launch cost down another order of magnitude. And because Starlink is building thousands of satellites it has economies of scale that no previous satellite/spacecraft had.

Breza 5y ago
If Airbus is successful, you'd have to compare SpaceX's scale to a similarly massive manufacturing operation of solar-powered aircraft. And you could theoretically make money from multiple sources since the aircraft could carry multiple pieces of equipment. You could make money from being an ISP and from selling imaging services.