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> So what else? What can SpaceX do on its own with this launch capability? Apart from Starlink, not much I believe. The main thing will be the Artemis contract
by cubefox 2y ago
> So what else? What can SpaceX do on its own with this launch capability?
Apart from Starlink, not much I believe. The main thing will be the Artemis contract with NASA, which requires two figures worth of Starship flights to LEO to refill the Starship tanker to get the HLS Starship to land a few people on the moon.
So I do think Starship will mostly generate money through NASA contracts, Starlink, and commercial launches. Though there aren't that many commercial launches currently. Perhaps there will be more once the launch prices drop due to reusability, though that remains to be seen. Developing a satellite is already more expensive than launching it.
- creer 2y agoWe saw that solar power venture unveil their idea. With lower cost/kg, there might be quite a few flights just to deliver piles of hardware in various new orbits. And these might require refueling launches as part of that process. Some delivered all in one place, some in separate locations.
- cubefox 2y agoYeah, there are some very speculative markets. Solar power from space, commercial space stations etc. The chances seem relatively low that those would develop into a big market and require a lot of Starship launches. I currently don't see a big space economy on the horizon. Space (LEO) tourism perhaps could be thing to some extent when Starship gets human rated for both launching and landing. Because a Starship could actually deliver larger quantities of people, unlike Dragon or Starliner capsules, but this is still many years away.