Well, that’s not the strongest argument at the moment, the launch is a one time cost, and that cost is in the process of dropping dramatically. But don’t worry, there are a plethora of other reasons this is a bad idea.
The price is dropping but not that rapidly. IIRC the price dropped like 95% over the last 25 years … That’s a 12% reduction annually on average. Compare that to computer chips where prices dropped 60% annually IIRC and solar panels where it dropped 30% annually.
I mean… whenever a price is dropping, that’s beating the odds, and your scoffing at a 95% price drop? We’ve had our first forays into reusable rockets, preserving booster stages, occasionally fairings. But when we have fully reusable rockets, from competing providers and in different payload size ranges, then it’s a whole different ballgame.
But I guess to your point, we’re probably looking at another 95% price drop over 25 years. (But who knows, maybe just 10-15)
You know how much it costs to transport stuff into space? Well, currently, around $1k/kg of material. Let that sink in.
Note this is only payload. Ship’s own weight is already included in this.
More interestingly, how much energy you need to invest for launching your photovoltaics power plant. Your EROEI is bad https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2012/03/space-based-solar-power/
Well, that’s not the strongest argument at the moment, the launch is a one time cost, and that cost is in the process of dropping dramatically. But don’t worry, there are a plethora of other reasons this is a bad idea.
The price is dropping but not that rapidly. IIRC the price dropped like 95% over the last 25 years … That’s a 12% reduction annually on average. Compare that to computer chips where prices dropped 60% annually IIRC and solar panels where it dropped 30% annually.
I mean… whenever a price is dropping, that’s beating the odds, and your scoffing at a 95% price drop? We’ve had our first forays into reusable rockets, preserving booster stages, occasionally fairings. But when we have fully reusable rockets, from competing providers and in different payload size ranges, then it’s a whole different ballgame.
But I guess to your point, we’re probably looking at another 95% price drop over 25 years. (But who knows, maybe just 10-15)
Still, I think that is extremely significant!