Definitely the benefit to having small, semi-disposable (not that I have 250-500k to throw away on a satellite myself) satellites with relatively low cost of delivery to space compared to a single large, $225M satellite like SXM-7 that was lost on orbit after only 6 months. At least SXM-7 saved on their launch by going with Falcon 9 instead of Ariane at a 4x multiplier. Elon can replace *and launch* the entire swarm of 40 for less than the price of one new Maxar satellite.
I’d be curious if he bothers carrying anything more than liability coverage on the fleet. See also: why I typically buy used cars and drive them into the ground.
The old Soviet motto, “Quantity has a quality all it’s own.” Or something similar.
Either Elon knew this could happen, or he adapts to loss better than most in the industry.
It is one of the main benefits for choosing to do this type of constellation with these types of satellites, so it is all just working as intended. Now that they know a specific weakness and how it works, they will likely avoid launching into those conditions.
Definitely the benefit to having small, semi-disposable (not that I have 250-500k to throw away on a satellite myself) satellites with relatively low cost of delivery to space compared to a single large, $225M satellite like SXM-7 that was lost on orbit after only 6 months. At least SXM-7 saved on their launch by going with Falcon 9 instead of Ariane at a 4x multiplier. Elon can replace *and launch* the entire swarm of 40 for less than the price of one new Maxar satellite.
I’d be curious if he bothers carrying anything more than liability coverage on the fleet. See also: why I typically buy used cars and drive them into the ground.
The old Soviet motto, “Quantity has a quality all it’s own.” Or something similar.
Either Elon knew this could happen, or he adapts to loss better than most in the industry.
It is one of the main benefits for choosing to do this type of constellation with these types of satellites, so it is all just working as intended. Now that they know a specific weakness and how it works, they will likely avoid launching into those conditions.