How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon spending

Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by ericd on Saturday May 14, 2016 @04:31PM (#11697907)

Is the cost difference between the launches usually less than the cost of building a backup satellite?

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Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by ncallaway on Saturday May 14, 2016 @05:04PM (#11698032)

Yes. Many times yes. The cost of launches is on the order of a few hundred million.

Military satellites often cost a few billion. Losing a satellite is, by far, the biggest risk during a launch. The launch cost itself is non-trivial, but a small fraction of the overall mission cost.

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Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by pravda on Saturday May 14, 2016 @10:36PM (#11699112)

> Military satellites often cost a few billion.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say the plans for a military satellite cost a few billion?

I would assume stamping out a new copy when you have the plans costs just a few tens of millions.

I mean, if you wanted one Airbus A380, it would cost you 15 billion dollars. But once you have the plans, you can stamp out additional copies for 100 million or so.

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Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by gaius on Sunday May 15, 2016 @03:34PM (#11702363)

Each one is unique, because they are always being improved.

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Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by forgotpwtomain on Sunday May 15, 2016 @03:29AM (#11699899)

> Military satellites often cost a few billion

This needs a reference.

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Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by mnl on Monday May 16, 2016 @07:39AM (#11705651)

Not really, but here you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-11_Kennan

And no, you can't make cheap primary mirrors (in a garage).

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