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Two companies have signed an agreement to launch their satellites on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful spacecraft currently in operation.
ViaSat, which provides Internet services from the space, has chosen the Falcon Heavy to launch one of its next-generation Internet satellites between 2020 and 2022. Ovzon, a Finnish start-up that plans to provide mobile broadband in orbit, has retained satellite over a similar period.
Market maker
SpaceX also sold one of the rockets to the US Air Force this summer, to travel as part of an experimental mission previously planned and purchased by the US Space Command. The vehicle is also responsible for launching a satellite for the ArabSat company. In addition to the five flights planned for the Falcon Heavy, the first of which is scheduled for spring 2019, the Inmarsat satellite operator also has the ability to fly with the Falcon Heavy.
Since its launch, Elon Musk's red Tesla roadster has been orbiting the sun in February 2018, the role of the vehicle is not entirely clear. SpaceX's Falcon 9 continues to fly satellites and missions to the International Space Station about twice a month, while the company's design team focuses on the BFR, an even larger rocket designed to realize the vision. of the society of traveling in the solar system.
The design and development of the Falcon Heavy cost more than $ 500 million and a starting price of $ 90 million, although the version purchased by the US Air Force costs $ 130 million. Although we do not know the profit margin of the vehicle, it is safe to say that it will take many flights to SpaceX to recover its investment in Falcon Heavy.
Satellite market analysts have been skeptical about the Falcon Heavy's ability to go black because of the weak market for the type of large geostationary satellites it is designed to fly. However, industry sources estimate that the US government would win launch contracts because the price is significantly lower than the other US heavy rocket, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV.
The shadow of Vulcan
United Launch Alliance is building a new rocket called Vulcan Centaur that will compete with SpaceX's offerings and replace its own Atlas and Delta systems. ULA has even teamed up with Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, whose company Blue Origin will build the Vulcan engine.
Earlier this month, the US Air Force selected three companies to develop rockets for its future military missions, granting billions of dollars in funding. Many surprises, SpaceX was not rewarded, the federal funds went to ULA, Northrup Grumman and Blue Origin.
SpaceX could still compete for these contracts when they bid after 2020. New slide The detail of the Vulcan's planned capabilities, which is expected to cost less than $ 150 million, gives us an idea of how this competition might evolve.
The table below shows two versions of the Vulcan, one with two solid rocket propellants and the other with six, compared to Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Each is measured by what it can carry on different orbits: Low Earth Orbit (LEO), where the International Space Station is located; a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), which puts the satellite on a trajectory orbiting above a point on the Earth; and the geostationary orbit (GEO), which is a direct flight into orbit over a point on the Earth.
The next generation of rockets
As both are announced, the Vulcan Centaur seems competitive with the SpaceX Falcon 9, although we do not know it before seeing the price. Interestingly, the six booster configuration is still not as good as the Falcon Heavy.
However, the Falcon 9 has never made a mission into geostationary orbit and, although Falcon Heavy can do so, we do not know what payload it can take. Although an even larger version of Vulcan is expected in 2023, it appears that the Falcon Heavy could remain a competitive choice for national security launches in the near future.
Two other options are conceivable: Northrop Grumman's proposed OmegA solid-propellant rocket could be considered a heavy lift truck carrying up to ten tonnes in geostationary orbit, but its cost is not public. The new Glenn from Blue Origin is a huge reusable rocket that promises to drive up to 45 tons in a low Earth orbit, but may not be ready until 2022.
The big mystery that remains to be resolved is which of these new rockets can compete with SpaceX's lowest prices.
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