Doing Research…

Posted on by February 11, 2022

Go read the folks on the sidebar, they’re better writers than I am…

I’ll leave this here for discussion!

Anybody that thinks SpaceX isn’t making a difference is not tracking the actual cost/kg… Just sayin…

Comments

Doing Research… — 12 Comments

  1. You know that graph would be even more impressive it used a straight Y axis instead of a log scale one. The Falcon 9 is half the cost of its competitors (or less), Falcon Heavy halves that more or less and Starship is expected to be a tenth the cost of Falcon 9.

    On the other hand the graph is also notable by the rockets it omits such as Blue Origin and the various other smaller commercial rocket companies

    • Mention of Blue Origin reminds me of a joke I heard yesterday:

      What is the last thing Jeff Bezos does before going to bed?
      Put his pajamazon.

    • Why would the chart include Blue Origin?

      It is, after all, a chart of COSTS TO ORBIT, which is NOT one of Blue Origins achievements to date.

      I object to including StarShip for the same reason.

  3. Are the cost/kg numbers adjusted for inflation? A dollar in 1970 was worth a lot more than a dollar in 2022.

  5. Francis- Good point.

    TOS- Sigh…

    GB- I’ll have to go find it.

    Roy- I don’t know, but that is also a good point!

    WSF- As always… sigh

  8. Most of the cheaper launch methods are being used for cargo. Safety is less of a consideration and safety factors cost money. But yes….over the years as we’ve gotten more practice at throwing stuff up out of the gravity well we’ve gotten better at it AND made it a bit cheaper. Instead of being insanely expensive to put something into orbit it’s just garden variety expensive. But as long as we are stuck perching things on top of a giant roman candle where 90% of the weight is just for the fuel we are NEVER going to be a truly space faring species. We simply MUST find a way to more easily and safely negate the effects of gravity.