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SpaceX just sold the US Air Force the cheapest enormous rocket it's ever bought
SpaceX has won its first contract to launch a classified military satellite on its Falcon Heavy rocket, beating out rival United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
The launch contract will cost the US Air Force $130 million, far less than the $350 million average cost of United Launch Alliance's Delta IV, previously the heaviest lifter in the US arsenal. SpaceX's disruptive business model has proven itself in the national security arena, where it has won five previous contracts since its rockets were certified to fly military missions.
The US Air Force decision signals confidence in the engineering behind the new rocket, which consists of three modified Falcon 9 cores strapped together and flew for the first time in February 2018 after seven years of development and testing.
Also at Ars Technica and Space News.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday June 22 2018, @06:26PM
While they will not drop everything for the BFR development (they are working on Crew Dragon for example), they will have no qualms about replacing all F9 flights with BFRs *eventually*, if a reusable BFR flight is cheaper than any F9 flight. The extra payload capacity just becomes a big buffer that allows them to get the entire rocket landed. 100% reuse is better than 70% or 90%.
There may be an interim period of a few years when F9, FH, and BFR are all launching. That depends on how fast they can convince potential customers that BFR is reliable and they can switch to it. SpaceX may also do more expendable F9/FH launches during this period so they don't have to accumulate obsolete boosters (some will be saved for rocket gardens, Smithsonian Air and Space, etc.).
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