[−]NitpickLawyer · 2026-11-15 Sun 17:26 UTC ·
link
> what starship really can do and what it will cost.
The previous flight launched 20 sats and that is the equivalent (in Starlink bandwidth) to 10x F9 launches.
This one launched 26 sats. That'd be 13x F9 launches in Starlink bw.
F9 internal cost is 20M$.
Starship stack is rumoured to cost ~100M$ to build.
If they can launch a stack once every month, they've already achieved more "capacity" for Starlink than their best year using F9s (last year). At half the price.
So that's already proven, even if nothing else works (i.e. reusability, etc). But of course they'll keep working the problem and make it work. They're also scaling at a crazy pace (3 more pads in various stages of readiness, plus even more planned in the next ~5 years). They've just finished the gigabay and they're planning even more in Louisiana.
Anything they do from here on out is "the cherry on top".
It has to hinge on opening up an entirely new economy in space. I certainly see the potential for mass-human spaceflight when access to space crosses the threshold prices that made commercial air travel possible.
Absolutely crazy that F9 with reuse is more expensive per sat capacity than a disposable starship, incredible what Raptor mass manufacturing has done to costs.
The previous flight launched 20 sats and that is the equivalent (in Starlink bandwidth) to 10x F9 launches.
This one launched 26 sats. That'd be 13x F9 launches in Starlink bw.
F9 internal cost is 20M$.
Starship stack is rumoured to cost ~100M$ to build.
If they can launch a stack once every month, they've already achieved more "capacity" for Starlink than their best year using F9s (last year). At half the price.
So that's already proven, even if nothing else works (i.e. reusability, etc). But of course they'll keep working the problem and make it work. They're also scaling at a crazy pace (3 more pads in various stages of readiness, plus even more planned in the next ~5 years). They've just finished the gigabay and they're planning even more in Louisiana.
Anything they do from here on out is "the cherry on top".
Are we ready to put passengers and NASA interplanetary missions on Starship? No.
Is SpaceX ready to count on Starship for replenishing or expanding their main moneymaking satellite fleet? Yes.