SpaceX, the leading rocket launch company founded by Elon Musk, famously announced a price tag of just 62 62 million for its Falcon 9 rocket – a price that has been fixed for four and a half years. Of course, almost for a long time, SpaceX has Also That said, switching to reusable rockets would allow the company to further reduce its price – as much as 30%.
So four and a half years after the release of the 62 62 million price tag, how cheap has the SpaceX rocket launch been? U.S. Thanks to a series of contract changes recently announced by Space Force, we finally know.
The rocket launches at half price
Last week, Space Force announced that it would allow SpaceX to be reused (or prefer SpaceX, “flight-proven”) to launch the Falcon 9 rocket government’s next two government GPS III satellites. The government had previously insisted that such “national security” satellites be launched on top of the new rocket, but SpaceX has now successfully re-launched the rocket used 38 times for other customers.
It seems like it’s enough to convince the Space Force in the end that this is the safest way to go into orbit – and cheap, boots.
how A lot Cheap? Initially, SpaceX agreed to launch these government GPS satellites for about $ 97 million. But in exchange for permission to fly a reusable rocket, SpaceX now says it could reduce the total price taken from Space Force for the next two launches. Reported last week.
Now, as compliance with government regulations increases the top cost of SpaceX’s generally announced prices, Space Force will still pay more than million 70 million for this special launch. But presenting reusable cuts All Launching costs by equal amount by cutting it Government Launch costs. If this is true, then “flight-proven” rockets could reduce the cost of a normal launch to 36 36 million.
It is also cheaper than the 30% cost reduction that SpaceX initially promised four years ago. In fact, it works to reduce costs more than that 40%.
SpaceX – and what it means for everyone else
The Space Force has already pledged 60% of its national security launch contract to the SpaceX Archive United Alliance (ULA) between 2022 and 2027, with SpaceX receiving only 40%. The award, announced two months ago, gives some assurances to the ULA that it will not immediately “price” the space launch market through SpaceX’s low prices – good news for Boeing (NYSE: BA) And Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Joint owners of ULA.
Post-2027, however, could make things difficult for Boeing and Lockheed, which face the possibility of losing a Space Force contract entirely with SpaceX, or cut their own prices to match SpaceX’s price and consequently sacrifice their profit margins. (This could be particularly problematic for Boeing. According to recent data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, Boeing’s defense, space and security business is currently in place. Only Boeing’s business is profitable.)
In the commercial space launcher industry, the benefits of SpaceX may also become apparent. U.S. Unlike the government, commercial businesses have no interest in paying more to one provider, to ensure that several providers are available to put the necessary payload into orbit.
If SpaceX could launch a commercial payload at just million 36 million, I honestly don’t see how the ULA can compete with it – unless it’s dramatically cheaper than its new Vulcan Centurion rocket Atlas V and Delta VI VI rockets. Until proven. . For that matter, even foreign rocket launchers like Russia’s Roscosmos and India’s PSLV may struggle to compete.
Expend more than the $ 15 million cost of the પી 15 million Indian PSLV rocket, which is probably the cheapest launch vehicle on this side of China. The PSLV, however, has a payload capacity of about 1.8 metric tons in lower orbit – less than a tenth of the Falcon 9’s 22.8-ton payload. Pound for pound, therefore, it seems that there is no one on earth capable of launching a payload in orbit cheaper than SpaceX.
Thanks to its reusable rocket, the global commercial satellite launch market could now belong to SpaceX.
