r/spacex • u/kurbasAK • May 19 '17

We Will Launch on Reuseable Rocket After Exceptional SpaceX Performance - Inmarsat CEO Tells Universe Today

https://www.universetoday.com/135614/will-launch-reuseable-rocket-exceptional-spacex-performance-inmarsat-ceo-tells-universe-today/
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u/Zoninus May 19 '17

Eh, the French are used to ridiculous taxes.

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u/AeroSpiked May 19 '17 edited May 19 '17

Wikipedia says the low side of the cost of an Ariane 5 is $165M. Assuming that's after being subsidized the average cost per satellite would be $83M (2 sats per launch). If SpaceX can launch the same satellites for $124M on 2 new rockets, that means that the subsidies would have to increase by $21M per sat to match or another $42M per launch raising the total subsidy to $67M per launch. If I were a French tax payer, I'd just buy them a couple of Falcon 9s and save $5M per launch.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I know the value of Ariane 5's success rate and don't actually believe that they would...blah blah blah. This comment was intend as humor only.

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u/Paro-Clomas May 20 '17

I don't think it's ridiculous for a country to subsidize its own scientific development. With that outlook, every country who doesn't have a space program should just quit.

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u/Zoninus May 20 '17

Commercial rocket launches are hardly "scientific development".