6 ms·

It's indeed kinda refreshing to see a company actually put such a high pricetag out there... and all the more frustrating that so many companies demand contact

It's indeed kinda refreshing to see a company actually put such a high pricetag out there... and all the more frustrating that so many companies demand contact info for a "quote" when I don't need to do that to launch something into outer fucking space.

pencilguin 4y ago
Of course nobody actually pays that.
- wongarsu 4y ago
  That goes for anything sold B2B for more than a couple hundred dollars. But still, I can immediately budget it at that price, and if the price comes down 20% in negotiations that pays for everything else that's behind schedule and over budget
- ur-whale 4y ago
  >Of course nobody actually pays that That's not the point.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- mr_sturd 4y ago
  Makes you wonder if this customer actually did though. If they were forced to dispose of the central booster due to the needs of the payload, that central booster must be costed in.
  - gpm 4y ago
    They paid more, something like $150M I think "no one pays that" has more to do with "every mission is actually a negotiated contract" than "the price is inflated". https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/10/falcon-heavy-ussf-44/ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/10/falcon-heavy-ussf-44...
    - mr_sturd 4y ago
      Fair enough, I'd naïvely thought of it as a ceiling.
      - asah 4y ago
        In my experience, most commercial offerings over USD$100,000 are negotiated, simply because there's enough money to do pay someone to negotiate.
      - pencilguin 4y ago
        Try that next time you stay in a hotel, or fly. Usually you pay more, often a lot more. But sometimes less. Probably most SpaceX customers pay more. (Oh, you wanted it not tumbling?)
- kwertyoowiyop 4y ago
  Gotta ask for the AAA discount.
  - ovao 4y ago
    Enter coupon code “CHIEFTWIT2022” during checkout.
- sebzim4500 4y ago
  For Falcon Heavy you are probably right (since there aren't many clients and they all have specific requests) but it is my understanding that the publically listed reusable F9 price is the one being paid by most customers.
dylan604 4y ago
Honestly, I think this would absolutely justify the Contact For Quote. What's your payload? What size is it? Will it be a dedicated flight, or can we ride share with other customers? So many questions just to do something silly like "launch something into outer fucking space". Also, nitpick, but is geosync orbit actually outer space?
- djkorchi 4y ago
  Geosynchronous orbit is at 37,000km (well above ISS which iirc is at 400km), so by most definitions that is in space. Often that threshold is put as low as ~100km, when the atmosphere becomes too thin to support winged flight.
- vikingerik 4y ago
  There's no definitional difference between "outer space" and just space. They're synonymous, and most commonly defined to begin at 100 km altitude. If there's any difference, it's that outer space refers to the physical region, as opposed to "space" that might refer to the mathematical and relativistic concept. "Deep space" is another definition, which commonly means beyond lunar altitude. Other regions of space typically use a specific descriptor - interplanetary, trans-Jovian, trans-Neptune, interstellar, extra-galactic.
  - philsnow 4y ago
    > defined to begin at 100 km altitude I guess this is probably on Earth, which makes me wonder how far up from Earth's moon do you have to go to be "in space"?
    - pfdietz 4y ago
      The 100 km comes from the "von Karmen line", the altitude at which the speed you'd need to be flying to generate enough lift to stay level would equal the orbital velocity. For the moon, there is no such altitude, so space comes right down to the surface.
      - 4y ago
spfzero 4y ago
Well you don't need the quote to get an idea of how feasible it would be for you to afford it. But I think you'd need a quote once you started fine-tuning your ask.

pencilguin 4y ago

Of course nobody actually pays that.

wongarsu 4y ago
That goes for anything sold B2B for more than a couple hundred dollars. But still, I can immediately budget it at that price, and if the price comes down 20% in negotiations that pays for everything else that's behind schedule and over budget
ur-whale 4y ago
>Of course nobody actually pays that That's not the point.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mr_sturd 4y ago
Makes you wonder if this customer actually did though. If they were forced to dispose of the central booster due to the needs of the payload, that central booster must be costed in.
- gpm 4y ago
  They paid more, something like $150M I think "no one pays that" has more to do with "every mission is actually a negotiated contract" than "the price is inflated". https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/10/falcon-heavy-ussf-44/ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/10/falcon-heavy-ussf-44...
  - mr_sturd 4y ago
    Fair enough, I'd naïvely thought of it as a ceiling.
    - asah 4y ago
      In my experience, most commercial offerings over USD$100,000 are negotiated, simply because there's enough money to do pay someone to negotiate.
    - pencilguin 4y ago
      Try that next time you stay in a hotel, or fly. Usually you pay more, often a lot more. But sometimes less. Probably most SpaceX customers pay more. (Oh, you wanted it not tumbling?)
kwertyoowiyop 4y ago
Gotta ask for the AAA discount.
- ovao 4y ago
  Enter coupon code “CHIEFTWIT2022” during checkout.
sebzim4500 4y ago
For Falcon Heavy you are probably right (since there aren't many clients and they all have specific requests) but it is my understanding that the publically listed reusable F9 price is the one being paid by most customers.

dylan604 4y ago

Honestly, I think this would absolutely justify the Contact For Quote. What's your payload? What size is it? Will it be a dedicated flight, or can we ride share with other customers? So many questions just to do something silly like "launch something into outer fucking space". Also, nitpick, but is geosync orbit actually outer space?

djkorchi 4y ago
Geosynchronous orbit is at 37,000km (well above ISS which iirc is at 400km), so by most definitions that is in space. Often that threshold is put as low as ~100km, when the atmosphere becomes too thin to support winged flight.
vikingerik 4y ago
There's no definitional difference between "outer space" and just space. They're synonymous, and most commonly defined to begin at 100 km altitude. If there's any difference, it's that outer space refers to the physical region, as opposed to "space" that might refer to the mathematical and relativistic concept. "Deep space" is another definition, which commonly means beyond lunar altitude. Other regions of space typically use a specific descriptor - interplanetary, trans-Jovian, trans-Neptune, interstellar, extra-galactic.
- philsnow 4y ago
  > defined to begin at 100 km altitude I guess this is probably on Earth, which makes me wonder how far up from Earth's moon do you have to go to be "in space"?
  - pfdietz 4y ago
    The 100 km comes from the "von Karmen line", the altitude at which the speed you'd need to be flying to generate enough lift to stay level would equal the orbital velocity. For the moon, there is no such altitude, so space comes right down to the surface.
    - 4y ago

spfzero 4y ago

Well you don't need the quote to get an idea of how feasible it would be for you to afford it. But I think you'd need a quote once you started fine-tuning your ask.