3 ms·

It's a good question. A lot of people seem to think SpaceX can build it and the demand will appear, but that isn't how things have played out so far. SpaceX ha

It's a good question. A lot of people seem to think SpaceX can build it and the demand will appear, but that isn't how things have played out so far. SpaceX has lowered launch costs and they do launch a lot, but they're mostly putting their own satellites up. The demand from everyone else has increased a bit, but not really enough to support the "build it and they will come" theory. The failure of the Falcon Heavy to generate demand speaks volumes about how much demand Starship will see, IMO. Sure we might get an occasional space station, big telescope or Moon landing, but that will add up to a handful of launches. The demand for three launches a day like Musk wants just isn't there, and won't be for a very long time.

timschmidt 2y ago
> The failure of the Falcon Heavy to generate demand My understanding is that Falcon 9's thrust has increased to such a degree over it's lifetime that it is capable of taking over most of the missions which would have previously required Falcon Heavy. Recovering Falcon Heavy's central core is also significantly more challenging than a typical Falcon 9 launch due to the increased velocities achieved, increasing cost of the heavy further. And it's fairing is no larger than that of Falcon 9, further reducing it's utility. Starship is another beast entirely, with none of those limitations.