SpaceX offers 10% discount for satellites launched on reused 1st stages
In interview today for Space News, SpaceX’s president Gwynne Shotwell revealed that the company is only offering a 10% launch discount for any satellite launch that uses a reused Falcon 9 first stage, not the 30% price break she had indicated in March.
Though the interview also touched upon SpaceX’s September 1 launchpad investigation, it did not include anything significantly new. Shotwell readily admitted that the company did consider sabotage as a possible cause, but always considered it unlikely and right now has pretty much dismissed it. She also remains confident that the company will resume launches this year.
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In interview today for Space News, SpaceX’s president Gwynne Shotwell revealed that the company is only offering a 10% launch discount for any satellite launch that uses a reused Falcon 9 first stage, not the 30% price break she had indicated in March.
Though the interview also touched upon SpaceX’s September 1 launchpad investigation, it did not include anything significantly new. Shotwell readily admitted that the company did consider sabotage as a possible cause, but always considered it unlikely and right now has pretty much dismissed it. She also remains confident that the company will resume launches this year.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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:
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They have to make some money to fund everything. Maybe larger price cuts will come later as their technology matures. The previous 30% and the new 10% reduction lets us know that they are shaving off costs.
10% is not enough to take the risk of a used stage, It looks to me that we might are able to observe that cost reduction by Faclon 9’s reuse are so significant as hopped, or I am misguided by the article?
Is a used stage really more risky? I’m not sure about that. But the main point is of course cost savings. If they aren’t bigger than 10%, that’s a disappointment. Even 30% is less than a revolution. But price is not cost. They don’t need to give the value added to the customers until they have more competition, or outlook for greater demand from a low-price market and the capacity to mass produce launches.
I thought I would add to this that the price reduction is most likely dictated by demand for used stages. If they reduce their prices by 30% then all their customers may want to fly on used stages. A 10% reduction may be sufficient for some customers and could be better for SpaceX’s margins after the pad explosion.