
SpaceX Operating Margin on Rockets Increases Over 10% to 74+% - rendall
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/12/spacex-operating-margin-on-rockets-increasing-by-over-10-to-over-80.html
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mdonahoe
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...](https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-NASA-pay-per-kg-for-hydrogen-and-
oxygen-in-rocket-fuel/answer/Ian-Webster-1)

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

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exabrial
Good night, why do the fairings cost so much?

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isomorphic
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.

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exabrial
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?

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foxyv
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.

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Eridrus
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.

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willio58
Horrible how many ads show up on one article. One every half of a paragraph.

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superinnuendo
ULA had this coming.

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

