First Customer for Re-Used Spacex Rocket Announced
European satellite operator SES announced its plan to launch the SES-10 communications satellite on a re-used SpaceX rocket. The launch contract was officially announced on August 30, 2016. Details of the agreement have not been released but it has been reported that SES was aiming for a 30% discount below the price of an unused SpaceX rocket ($60 million).
Why this news is important
Reliable, low-cost reused rockets could be very attractive as communications satellite operators face declining profits. If SpaceX can reliably re-use its launch vehicles, it may be able to undercut the launch pricing of its competitors. Conventional wisdom in the space industry once believed the cost of a launch was modest when compared to the billions of dollars a communications satellite could generate over its lifetime. However, the economics of satellite communications is shifting as new technologies flood the market with capacity and drive down operator profits. Thus, lower priced used rockets may be very attractive for operators frantically searching for ways to decrease capital expenditures.
Links and image credit:
Image credit - SpaceX, "Falcon 9 First Stage Landing," December 28, 2015.
Press release - SES, "SES-10 Launching to orbit on SpaceX's flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket," August 30, 2016.
