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A comment on SpaceX wins first Pentagon contract for Starshield. Parent comment

Re:SpaceX wins first Pentagon contract for Starshield by nordsieck on Thursday September 28, 2023 @09:42AM (#37689486)
> At only $70M it's doubtful this specific contract includes any dedicated satellites. A single Falcon 9 launch is close to that price.

While I broadly agree with you, if SpaceX is selling a service and not a launch, I think the proper number is the internal cost to launch which probably sits around $20m-$25m.

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Re:SpaceX wins first Pentagon contract for Starshield by agloe_dreams on Thursday September 28, 2023 @09:59AM (#37689703)
You are about right on cost. Elon stated that a full reuse of a first stage + new second stage is about $15m, adding in the Elon-number correction and 20-25 feels right.
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Re:SpaceX wins first Pentagon contract for Starshield by dotnet00 on Thursday September 28, 2023 @10:06AM (#37689788)
IIRC the $15m is the per-unit costs (booster refurb, second stage production), the rest are the costs that can be divided up by increasing flight rate (launch pad operations, staff and other infrastructure).
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