Of course, SpaceX has the advantage of a large RLV, initially a partial RLV (of still quite good payload capability) but by the time this is in full swing, a very large fully reusable launch vehicle which would otherwise have a hard time finding enough customers (currently only 36 or so payloads per year... They'll need 40-100 in order to make full RLV worthwhile).
1. Instead of today's comms satellite manufacturing we will have a new generation and at least one new manufacturer ready to work for others building much cheaper devices. They are as much designing the manufacturing facility as the satellite in one go. Rather than building a dozen or two devices based on one common 'bus' there will be 700, they will need to be able to make spares in the future, so they will have the facility to cheaply manufacture others of similar design for other customers. I believe that Musk and Wyler will be able to build and launch the last of their birds, and the eventual spares, for < $500,000 per bird or < $1M when you include idea #2
2. My pet idea of having a tender with several spares on each plane that takes the dead ones away. With 700 'birds' these guys will likely be replacing 1-2 per week after a while. Once all the spares in a plane have been replaced, deorbit the duds and tender and send up a new tender.
Elon, if you are listening, make sure the standard satellite buses all accommodate de-orbit disposal burns AND that your constellations have active tenders (equipped with spares of course) on each plane nominally to replace failed units but also to trash collect in case one fails so that it can't deorbit itself. Lets have a commitment on this venture that sets the bar to prevent Kessler disasters.
Half of this page should be in a "laptops in space" thread. The joke was funny, but the comment chain after that doesn't discuss anything about the given radio interview. Don't get lazy people, make a new thread or topic stick.
There just has to be firewalls between the launch vehicle and spacecraft business, if they are to launch other companies' spacecraft and other companies' are going to launch their spacecraft.
Quote from: Jim on 01/13/2015 04:17 pmThere just has to be firewalls between the launch vehicle and spacecraft business, if they are to launch other companies' spacecraft and other companies' are going to launch their spacecraft.Hm, is it usually the satellite vendor who's buying the launch or the operator?
However, SpaceX earns a considerable amount of Comnsat money, launching the very things SpaceX has actively announced plans to compete against.What short-to-mid term ramifications is that going to earn SpaceX? I can imagine possible negative feedback.Good luck SpaceX, regardless. I'm sure Elon's already outguessed any critiques we could summon on that front, however.
We're going to try to do for satellites what we've done for rockets.