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motionlessveloc • today at 1:22 PM • 2 replies • view on HN

Starship's commercial viability rests almost entirely on whether it can orbit Starlink satellites more cheaply than Falcon. Falcon is around $3000/kg, Starship was promised at $100/kg, I doubt even Elon believes that number but it does mean they have plenty of buffer and cutting capacity from 50T to 100T is not the end of the world.

I agree that the Human Landing System plan for the moon is a shitshow, but it's almost a distraction for SpaceX at this point, and it would not surprise me if the whole program gets axed by whoever comes after Trump.


Replies

inglor_cz • today at 1:40 PM

It won't get axed, the race with China is on.

estearum • today at 1:39 PM

Its commercial viability (not program success) depends on Starlink launch, sure. But also: that depends on Starlink's viability and value.

Selling sub-fiber Internet access into a globe increasingly covered in fiber is a silly long-term value proposition.

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