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I haven't seen any evidence that Elon musk is a space exploration genius (he hasn't dropped the price to orbit at all despite promising the reusability would dr

I haven't seen any evidence that Elon musk is a space exploration genius (he hasn't dropped the price to orbit at all despite promising the reusability would drop it by 1/100) or a manufacturing genius (cybertruck).

ben_w 2y ago
That SpaceX continues to exist despite now launching approximately half of everything to space by both tonnage and discrete launches — as in, beating not just all the other US launchers combined, but also the combined national/international launches from the EU, India, China, Russia, etc. — says that SpaceX has, in fact, dropped the price to orbit. Likely by more than implied by the price tag on the website, even though the price tag on the website is itself a significant price reduction from most everything else. """NASA’s space shuttle had a cost of about $1.5 billion to launch 27,500 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), $54,500/kg. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 now advertises a cost of $62 million to launch 22,800 kg to LEO, $2,720/kg.""" - https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200001093 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200001093 (Publication Date, July 8, 2018) The current price on their website is slightly more for slightly less, $67 million for a 22,000 kg on a Falcon 9[0], and doesn't list the Falcon Heavy; the older archive.org version of the same page says the Heavy costs $97 million for 63,800 kg to LEO, which is $1520/kg, which is (to a rounding error) the number used by other reporters[2][3]. [0] https://www.spacex.com/media/Capabilities&Services.pdf https://www.spacex.com/media/Capabilities&Services.pdf [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20220322170331/https://www.spacex.com/media/Capabilities&Services.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20220322170331/https://www.space... [2] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-earth-orbit https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-e... [3] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/space-launch-are-we-heading-for-oversupply-or-a-shortfall# https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/ou...

ben_w 2y ago

That SpaceX continues to exist despite now launching approximately half of everything to space by both tonnage and discrete launches — as in, beating not just all the other US launchers combined, but also the combined national/international launches from the EU, India, China, Russia, etc. — says that SpaceX has, in fact, dropped the price to orbit. Likely by more than implied by the price tag on the website, even though the price tag on the website is itself a significant price reduction from most everything else. """NASA’s space shuttle had a cost of about $1.5 billion to launch 27,500 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), $54,500/kg. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 now advertises a cost of $62 million to launch 22,800 kg to LEO, $2,720/kg.""" - https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200001093 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20200001093 (Publication Date, July 8, 2018) The current price on their website is slightly more for slightly less, $67 million for a 22,000 kg on a Falcon 9[0], and doesn't list the Falcon Heavy; the older archive.org version of the same page says the Heavy costs $97 million for 63,800 kg to LEO, which is $1520/kg, which is (to a rounding error) the number used by other reporters[2][3]. [0] https://www.spacex.com/media/Capabilities&Services.pdf https://www.spacex.com/media/Capabilities&Services.pdf [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20220322170331/https://www.spacex.com/media/Capabilities&Services.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20220322170331/https://www.space... [2] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-earth-orbit https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-e... [3] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/space-launch-are-we-heading-for-oversupply-or-a-shortfall# https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/ou...