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How can any company be a competitor to Starlink when they have to pay ~$67M per launch and SpaceX's internal price is something less than half that (likely a th

by grecy 3y ago

How can any company be a competitor to Starlink when they have to pay ~$67M per launch and SpaceX's internal price is something less than half that (likely a third or quarter). Furthermore, how can they compete when Starlink already has 5,289 sats in orbit, and their current launch cadence is faster than anything any competitor can possibly hope to even equal in the next decade. I simply can't see how anyone can realistically be considered anything less than a very, very distant has-run.

kanbara 3y ago
everyone pays something for launch, no matter who they use, and SpaceX has to build and launch the rockets themselves. Starlink may be getting some sort of deal already, but it's monopolistic to utilise your own technology (especially when it's government funded) and deny others the same right for the same price. additionally, Starlink's D2D is like what 6 satellites? most of the existing sats cannot be used for device connection, so the playing field is very much level and open to many.
- grecy 3y ago
  > everyone pays something for launch, no matter who they use, and SpaceX has to build and launch the rockets themselves. Starlink and SpaceX are the same company. Of couse they're getting it at cost price. > but it's monopolistic to utilise your own technology (especially when it's government funded) and deny others the same right for the same price Please stop this FUD. The government did not "fund" SpaceX anymore than they "funded" Jeep when the USPS bought a bunch of jeeps for rural mail delivery. Also are you saying Apple must sell computers to competitors for the same price they sell them to themselves to put in their own offices? Of course they "sell" themselves their own products cheaper than they sell them to other companies and competitors. > additionally, Starlink's D2D is like what 6 satellites? most of the existing sats cannot be used for device connection, so the playing field is very much level and open to many. And SpaceX are aiming for 144 launches this year. How about the "competition"? Five on the very high end.

by grecy 3y ago

kanbara 3y ago

everyone pays something for launch, no matter who they use, and SpaceX has to build and launch the rockets themselves. Starlink may be getting some sort of deal already, but it's monopolistic to utilise your own technology (especially when it's government funded) and deny others the same right for the same price. additionally, Starlink's D2D is like what 6 satellites? most of the existing sats cannot be used for device connection, so the playing field is very much level and open to many.

grecy 3y ago
> everyone pays something for launch, no matter who they use, and SpaceX has to build and launch the rockets themselves. Starlink and SpaceX are the same company. Of couse they're getting it at cost price. > but it's monopolistic to utilise your own technology (especially when it's government funded) and deny others the same right for the same price Please stop this FUD. The government did not "fund" SpaceX anymore than they "funded" Jeep when the USPS bought a bunch of jeeps for rural mail delivery. Also are you saying Apple must sell computers to competitors for the same price they sell them to themselves to put in their own offices? Of course they "sell" themselves their own products cheaper than they sell them to other companies and competitors. > additionally, Starlink's D2D is like what 6 satellites? most of the existing sats cannot be used for device connection, so the playing field is very much level and open to many. And SpaceX are aiming for 144 launches this year. How about the "competition"? Five on the very high end.