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by roedog 2708 days ago
Well, Space X costs less than half than a ULA launch. I suspect that ULA spends that additional money on large sub-contracts to Boeing and Lockheed for the Delta and Atlas vehicles. This makes me think that when we add up the employees on the subcontracts the space X staffing number will be much more impressive in it's leanness.

I hope they all join my company, we've got a lot of work they would find interesting. With the retirement rate increasing it's the time to change things for the better. I want their experience at Space X on how to do things faster and better. But perhaps that's wishful thinking...
2 comments
syncmaster913n 2707 days ago
Launch price does not necessarily tell us anything because we do not know what profit margins SpaceX has.
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roedog 2707 days ago
hmm. So they could be losing money on each launch? But, why would they would they choose to sell at a loss when they could beat the competition at twice the price?
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syncmaster913n 2704 days ago
> But, why would they would they choose to sell at a loss when they could beat the competition at twice the price?

Because they promised to cut prices by an order of magnitude. Following a promise like that, you can't just offer a 10-15% price reduction.

Plus, if they offered at twice the current price, I don't believe they would be competitive. Part of the reason they offer a low price is that they have still-new, not-fully-tested technology. Clients accept the increased risk, but they expect significant savings in return.

Also, for certain flight configurations, SpaceX's pricing isn't particularly competitive even at its current level.

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roedog 2703 days ago
Ah, I wasn't thinking about their commercial business. I can imagine how that would be more price sensitive.
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syncmaster913n 2702 days ago
Ah, got it.
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Traster 2707 days ago
I don't beleive this, but it's possible that SpaceX are selling launches at below cost to drive demand so that they can get up to a scale where they're economical and in order to establish a dynamic in the industry where known low cost launches enable new projects that will cause higher demand in the future.
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spaceandshit 2707 days ago
Which company?
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Drdrdrq 2707 days ago
Probably Northrop Grumman [0]?

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14689610

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