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Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by serioussecurity on Tuesday April 16, 2019 @11:14PM (#19679452)
depends what you mean. If you think of it as a "replacement" of another launch they could have sold, then yes, it's the same cost. Lost profit opportunity is lost profit is a cost.

But if it means they can increase the # of rockets they build, they might pick up some efficiency gains on the back stretch. I'm pretty sure they're already struggling to keep up with demand, tho.

Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by azernik on Tuesday April 16, 2019 @11:37PM (#19679565)
They're getting to the point where they're demand-limited rather than supply-limited - plowing through the backlog quite fast, and the GTO launch market is in a downturn.
Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by agildehaus on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @01:28AM (#19679973)
SpaceX keeps rockets other customers "paid" for after they've landed (the customer pays for the flight, not the rocket). They've amassed a fleet they never had to pay a dime to construct.

I believe they have eight block 5 Falcon 9s that landed successfully. More if you count previous generations, but those likely won't be reused.

Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by fyfy18 on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @01:37AM (#19680014)
Does the price of a launch completely cover the cost of construction (excluding R&D)?
Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by usrusr on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @02:03AM (#19680125)
It does, for the competition, and there is no reason for SpaceX to go much lower as long as they don't build excessive overcapacity that needs to be filled.
Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by nickik on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @05:41AM (#19681093)
Yes. They actually improved a lot of rocket construction and that's why they were cheaper then everybody else BEFORE re-usability. Now re-usability they just increase the profit.

Until somebody else challenges their price, they can get huge profit from every launch.

Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by deanCommie on Tuesday April 16, 2019 @11:17PM (#19679463)
Not if the opportunity is to be ahead of your rivals to a new market frontier and guarantee a head start
Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by TimTheTinker on Tuesday April 16, 2019 @11:37PM (#19679566)
Even then you're trading one opportunity cost for another.
Re:SpaceX’s Starlink Constellation construction begins by growlist on Wednesday April 17, 2019 @04:52AM (#19680871)
So then make the competitor pay for it: each time they launch for a competitor, add a margin equating to the total cost of deploying a Starlink satellite.