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Wait. If the satellites cost $200M to launch, and they make $44M per month - why do they need 4x more customers to break even? Unless I'm missing something the
by onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
Wait. If the satellites cost $200M to launch, and they make $44M per month - why do they need 4x more customers to break even?
Unless I'm missing something the 5-year unit economics look outstanding already.
- walrus01 4y agotheir calculation may be based on the need to continually replace the satellites because their low orbits and relatively limited ion thruster fuel supply means each satellite has an expected 4-5 year service life.
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago$44M * 12 * 4 = $2112M (revenue). The supposed cost to launch these was only $200M according to GP. So I'm wondering - why do they need to make 4x as much money ($8B) to make a profit in a $200M investment? Obviously R&D. But is it that much?!
- ben_w 4y agoI think $200M was just the launches this month, not all launches to date or all needed to compete the constellation. If it really costs SpaceX $40-50M per launch, the 47 launches to date cost $1880-2350 billion. I don’t know how many now launches they need before they switch to just replacements.