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In the short term SpaceX will not reduce their prices - they will simply make a larger profit.

When SpaceX has effective competition that can deploy a single ticket multiple times, prices will drop dramatically.




That might be one logical approach, but it's not actually true. "Flight tested" rockets already offer a 10% discount to customers, and they say the plan is to get to 30% eventually.


Did anyone ever state the discount SES got? To my knowledge all we got were vague notions.

In any case, considering the four-month refurbishment the reflown core may actually have ended up more expensive than a new one. That's okay for now. SpaceX offered a discount to get a customer to fly on it instead of having to pay the launch cost completely on their own. Currently I wouldn't say the discount is any indication about how much cheaper reflying a core currently is. But with the first stage being about ¾ of the launch cost there are of course great potential savings, which is where the 30 % come in.


SES explicity stated that they would not disclose the discount they recieved, but confirmed they recieved a discount.


No doubt it was hefty, because of first-mover advantage - SpaceX badly needed an entity willing to take the _perceived_ risk, and SES was not only willing but eager to do it. I bet they got a great discount.


Maybe.

Or maybe making it cheaper to fly will increase demand enough that it makes sense to lower prices to meet it




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