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from the don't-forget-to-wipe-your-nose dept.
SpaceX to Reuse Payload Fairing for First Time on Nov. 11 Launch:
A SpaceX launch set for Nov. 11 will mark the first Falcon 9 mission to use a payload fairing from a previous flight, the company announced Tuesday, shortly after SpaceX engineers at Cape Canaveral test-fired the mission's first stage booster, also refurbished and reused.
The Falcon 9 launch scheduled for next Monday — and previously planned for October — will loft 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network, joining 60 other test craft deployed on a Falcon 9 flight in May.
The launch window opens at 9:51 a.m. EST (1451 GMT) Monday and extends for approximately 11 minutes. It will be SpaceX's first launch since Aug. 6, and the first ground-based launch from Cape Canaveral since Aug. 22.
[...] Last month, a senior SpaceX official said the Starlink flight would be the company's first mission to fly a Falcon 9 first stage booster for a fourth launch.
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 06 2019, @02:13PM
ZERO COMMENTS means NEEDS MORE NIGGERS
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday November 06 2019, @04:03PM (7 children)
Sure, the diehard space fans may be making a big deal over this, but to the rest of us it's pretty boring. The first few controlled landings were pretty cool, now they do it so often as to hardly be newsworthy. I wish them great success and for their continued awesomeness to be viewed as boring.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday November 06 2019, @04:33PM (6 children)
Falcon 9 is also junk compared to Starship.
They want as close to full reusability as possible for their own missions to reduce Starlink costs. But an upper stage is still going to get burnt to a crisp. Testing Starship with Starlink launches is going to get the most bang for their buck.
The other news here is the months long launch lull. Falcon 9 has taken care of a lot of the industry's launch backlog. SpaceX will insert its own Starlink launches, preventing expensive facilities and personnel from going unused.
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(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Wednesday November 06 2019, @07:11PM (2 children)
I haven't thought about it, but you are right about "The Lull". It's been a bit. We're far below last year's launch number.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday November 06 2019, @07:41PM
SpaceX’s first Falcon 9 launch in months gets a launch date [teslarati.com]
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 07 2019, @04:47AM
Is it just SpaceX experiencing a lull, or is that across the commercial launch market?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday November 06 2019, @10:19PM (2 children)
I don't mean to diss the Starship at all. Not one bit.
But, Falcon 9 is flying and Starship isn't (yet).
I look forward to Starship. But Falcon 9 makes money and launches payloads today.
A bird in hand is worth two hand washings just to be sure your hands are clean.
If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, you technically only had one piece.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday November 06 2019, @10:27PM (1 child)
But that's also part of the problem. SpaceX needs upper stages for customer payloads, maybe 50 or more over the next few years. Some of these customers will not switch to a Starship in the short term, opting to use the proven Falcon 9 or Heavy rocket.
So every Falcon 9 launch for Starlink burns a rocket stage that could be used for a paying customer. Better to just spam an in-development Starship until it blows up.
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday November 06 2019, @10:32PM
The Starship, and the Super Heavy launcher both have a lot more surface area for advertisements.
If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, you technically only had one piece.
(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Wednesday November 06 2019, @07:30PM (1 child)
Elon once mentioned that the Fairings were about $6 million per flight, out of a $62 million per flight sticker price. If they can reuse these then it's a nice bump to the per-flight margin.
Sidebar: I feel like they are betting the farm on Starship. It's like the field of dreams "build it and they will come" platform. I hope the company doesn't run out of money trying to get it in the air and back again. I should have more faith in light of the Falcon 9/heavy accomplishments, but I'm scared.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday November 06 2019, @08:07PM
I'd say the bigger bet is Starlink.
Although they say they can begin operating with only a fraction of the planned constellation, my guess is that they will spend no less than $5 billion on Starlink under the current plans. 50,000 satellites * $100,000. Remember, the initial satellites will have to be deorbited and destroyed after 7 years or so. If they get the per-satellite average cost far below $100k, then my estimate could be wildly off. But there are other costs associated with Starlink. Some might not be borne by SpaceX if they decide to use middlemen to handle home internet service customers.
Starship development was estimated at $2 to $10 billion. Based on the use of stainless steel instead of carbon fiber, building rockets out in the open, and using only about 5% of the company's resources, I'd say it's coming in at the lower end so far. They are probably getting at least $200 million from Yusaku Maezawa, conditional on success. Air Force and NASA are likely customers. Telecoms are interested and SpaceX claims it could launch commercial payloads in 2021.
A successful fully reusable launch vehicle destroys the launch industry as we know it and starts a new race to the bottom. Rocket launches weren't that lucrative to start with (unless it's a pork rocket). SpaceX could keep Starship launch prices at Falcon 9 levels for a while and pocket more money that way, but that doesn't expand the amount of customers (see the current months-long launch lull). SpaceX becoming its own best customer and launching Starlink satellites cheaper than Amazon or OneWeb can launch theirs is going to be a big deal. It's a vertical monopoly that could significantly expand SpaceX's revenue, and it could lead to various legal challenges and liabilities they weren't exposed to before.
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