SpaceX Operating Margin on Rockets Increases Over 10% to 74+% | Hacker News Reader

SpaceX Operating Margin on Rockets Increases Over 10% to 74+%

nextbigfuture.com

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Anyone have numbers on per-launch fuel costs for Falcon 9?

Random quora answer claims NASA paid about $1.3m for liquid hydrogen and oxygen for space shuttle launches.

https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-NASA-pay-per-kg-for-hydr...

The amount usually thrown around is 200'000 - 300'000$. However I can't find a firm source.

Good night, why do the fairings cost so much?

I'd speculate labor, testing, and other quality assurance cost more than the materials. The fairings have to handle ridiculous thermal and mechanical stresses, then have to separate reliably and cleanly before payload deployment. There can't be flaws.

You don't want your "cheap" fairings developing a pinhole while being hurled through the atmosphere at great speed; this obliterates your ultra-expensive payload.

Well see that's what I can't wrap my head around. If it's mainly a labor and testing cost, one would think recovery wouldn't yield much benefit because testing takes the majority of the budget. Since they are recovering, obviously the materials are extremely valuable, despite needing to be recertified.

If that's the case, what makes the materials so expensive?

Testing costs are not that much compared to the manufacturing. Especially if they are using carbon fiber composites.

Although I think the best result is that they get an much more detailed look at how their rocket parts are performing. Telemetry is great, but when you can inspect the actual part you can improve on things that may end up being a problem down the line. That's how block 5 boosters came about for the most part.

Oh cool, I had assumed that since Mr Steven had not caught the faring, it was toast, seems like it's waterproof now!

As happy as I am that SpaceX has moved the industry forward and given it a kick in the pants, I hope Blue Origin manages to get their rockets to work so that SpaceX gets some competition, rather than pocketing these margins.

Horrible how many ads show up on one article. One every half of a paragraph.

ULA had this coming.

I hope the new public-private partnership model gets rid of the complacency you see at defense contractors.

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