Some satellite companies still have an appetite for boutique launch services
"Dedicated launch is pretty essential for us for most of our missions.".
"Dedicated launch is pretty essential for us for most of our missions."
The short version
- “Dedicated launch is pretty essential for us for most of our missions.” If you ask most satellite companies aside from SpaceX, they will tell you the world doesn’t have enough capacity for launching payloads into orbit.
- This is despite the blistering launch cadence we’ve seen around the world in recent years, led by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
- Customers in any sector will, of course, usually welcome competition.
What happened
Theoretically, competition will lead to lower prices and allow the best to rise to the top. It seems like the customers buying launch services were right.
Why it matters
SpaceX is dialing back its Falcon 9 launch program , and there is no certainty about when SpaceX’s reusable next-generation super-heavy-lift rocket, Starship, will carry anything to orbit besides the company’s own Starlink satellites.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.