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Comment by andyjohnson0 | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious about the infrastructure investment necessary for commercial space flight - over and above developing the launch system and vehicle itself - and how this affects the economics of the business.

How do SpaceX communicate with the Dragon in orbit? Have they built their own global tracking/control network? Or do they use ground stations developed for commercial satellite control? Are existing (non-NASA) networks suitable in terms of providing uninterrupted connectivity with an orbiting vehicle?

Also, is sharing of ground facilities (fueling, launch, recovery) with other operators necessary for the business to be economic?

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> How do SpaceX communicate with the Dragon in orbit? Have they built their own global tracking/control network?

No, they're using the US government's TDRSS system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracking_and_Data_Relay_Satelli...), and I think they're also getting support from NASA's ground stations.

> Also, is sharing of ground facilities (fueling, launch, recovery) with other operators necessary for the business to be economic?

I don't think so - it seems like the cost of running the ground-based infrastructure is quite minimal compared to the actual operational costs of launching. Although SpaceX is using some of the original NASA/USAF infrastructure at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg, it seems like they've built most of their facilities from scratch.

Interessting question, indeed. I'd guess that, for the time being, the existing infrastructure is used. Right now, I doubt there are enough commercial flights to justify a dedicated infrastructure, though I am sure there at least some plans to built one one day.

I assume the economics of the business are pretty much influenced by the infrastructure used, but I'm not an expert on it. Maybe the existing infrastructure is sufficient. Does any body now if SpaceX needs its own launch pads or can they existing ones? Or even better some of the existing ones?

EDIT: They used launch sites in Cape Canerveral, Vandenberg and apparently have one on Kwajalein Atoll, according to their website.

The SpaceX wikipedia page indicates that they have so far used US Military and NASA launch sites. But they are also planning to build a launch complex in South Texas. Not sure if its for their exclusive use.

There is also Spaceport America [1] being built in New Mexico. Seems to be open to anyone.

[1] http://www.spaceportamerica.com/

I believe that's "thinking of building", not "planning to build."

For a comercial programm aimed to promote space exploration it would be just logical to build non-exclusive launch sites.

And again Europe was not part of it...

From a commercial/competitive point of view, wouldn't an incumbent like SpaceX be better off building an exclusive launch site? Use it as a barrier to entry for competitors.

I agree with both your points though.

I'm not sure. My guess is that the lauch site is not biggest entry barrier, I think that's more the development and construction of the rockets and stuff. And the biggest customers in the western worlds like the NASA and the US military have there own sites, I guess they allow SpaceX competitors to use them too.

Again, I'm no expert on that, so please feel free to add some expertise!

Do they need a barrier to entry, beyond the difficulty of launching things into space at all? They seem to be going for the honorable strategy of running faster than everybody else, rather than trying to cripple their competitors.

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