Musk: Starlink “has achieved breakeven cash flow”
In a tweet yesterday, Elon Musk revealed that Starlink “has achieved breakeven cash flow,” adding that “Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year.”
This means that SpaceX achieved this goal using only its Falcon 9 rocket. Originally the company thought it had to have Starship to get enough satellites into orbit to operate the constellation. Because of delays in developing Starship (right now mostly caused by red tape in the federal government), the company ramped up the launch pace using just Falcon 9, and apparently got the job done.
The profits from Starlink can now be used to further develop Starship and Superheavy, assuming the federal government ever gets out of the way.
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In a tweet yesterday, Elon Musk revealed that Starlink “has achieved breakeven cash flow,” adding that “Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year.”
This means that SpaceX achieved this goal using only its Falcon 9 rocket. Originally the company thought it had to have Starship to get enough satellites into orbit to operate the constellation. Because of delays in developing Starship (right now mostly caused by red tape in the federal government), the company ramped up the launch pace using just Falcon 9, and apparently got the job done.
The profits from Starlink can now be used to further develop Starship and Superheavy, assuming the federal government ever gets out of the way.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
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You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
An amazing feat, especially on the business cash flow end!
The primary delay in Starship going operational is the size. The ground support equipment for a Falcon Heavy class vehicle would have been about 1/3 the size required for Starship. The GSE has been a major cause of delay. Permitting a vehicle that more closely matched the original intention of the Boca complex should been considerably less hassle, especially as the environmental case could be made for a cleaner rocket exhaust. Not to mention trying to do several new technologies in one massive vehicle. Falcon1 was an enabler of Falcon9.
There is no way of knowing this is true, or if it is, what exactly he means by it. Spacex is not publicly held and is so not required to disclose financials. Does he mean they are also paying new launches & satellite out of subscription revenues? Unless this is the case, it does not mean much. If it does not include debt service (eg…making required payments on loans) it means nothing at all. It may even be a simple lie made out of desperation …..he did that with Tesla once and got in massive legal trouble. For a private company, the consequences are likely less severe since the investors may know the truth and have signed NDA’s
Cloudy:
You hit the nail on the head. A lot of people here are incredibly naive and religious when it comes to Elon Musk.
I have a sneaky suspicion that “achieved breakeven cash flow,” in reality means: “achieved breakeven cash flow.” It could be folly to assume that it means anything else.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cash-flow
cash flow
(noun)
1. the sum of the after-tax profit of a business plus depreciation and other noncash charges: used as an indication of internal funds available for stock dividends, purchase of buildings and equipment, etc.
It is unclear whether the breakeven milestone is for the quarter or a specific period of time.
Meanwhile, speculation is futile about taking Starlink public (also mentioned in the article), as SpaceX is not in as much need for money from a (partial) sale, because Starship development is not the money pit that it should be. Outside investment is not as important for the company as it would have been or should have been. It is a small galena lining to the overregulatory/hostile-governmental cloud. (Hostile governmental action through overregulation?)
The government is trying to harm SpaceX, and they may be doing it, but the result is creative and impressive workarounds by the company. Launching every 2-1/2 days is the new goal, and half a decade ago ULA was crowing about how they were awesome for a one-time launch within six days on different coasts. At that time, it was an impressive feat, but SpaceX makes that look quaint. SpaceX is learning a lot about rapid turnaround, rapid pad preparation, and rocket longevity, because the government is such an [donkey]*.
Being such a creative company, I agree with Blair Ivey in another thread. “Wouldn’t bet against SpaceX.”
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/spacex-launches-23-starlink-with-a-1st-stage-flying-for-a-record-setting-18th-time/#comment-1433122
__________________
* Robert,
Is it OK to use the desired-but-replaced word for this purpose?
Edward: If you had wanted to quote Shakespeare precisely, and say the government “is an ass,” who am I to argue with the bard? In that context this is not an obscenity, though in certain other circumstances it could be considered a direct insult and would be cause for discipline.
Robert,
Yes, that was the context. Thank you.