Very interesting article, of course the other side of the market is those customers who can't or won't launch on a US vehicle for either country of origin issues or commerical preference, that opens up a different market and then of course there is in-orbit manufacturing which is yet to manifest as a new market but has high potential.
Thanks for the comment and great points! Definitely should be a need for some small launch providers outside the US as well, especially for those national security launches. As other space-based capabilities like in-orbit manufacturing mature, hopefully that will drive more demand for small launch as well!
Thank you! The lower launch costs are enabling everything from university student satellites to large companies sending up hundreds of imagery satellites at a time in a more affordable way.
Interesting stuff. Question about the Cosmic Girl / LauncherOne scenario: What precautions do they take to prevent the very inconvenient possibility that the rocket, once fired up, will collide with the plane? Do they just rely on physics, trajectories, and momentum, or is there some active collision prevention?
Thanks for the great question! Once LauncherOne is dropped, Cosmic Girl will quickly turn to the side to try to put some distance between it and the rocket. There is also a bit of a delay after LauncherOne is dropped and before the engine lights. In addition, the rocket has automatic and manually operated flight termination systems to shut down the engine in case the rocket starts veering off course.
As always, a very well written article that helps me get a deep dive into the space industry despite me entering with very little knowledge of the topic. Miniaturized satellites seems like a fantastic development and is somewhat mind-blowing, but also raises questions for me about detectability. Would it be easier for potentially hostile players to disguise powerful miniature satellites as though they are simply space debris? Either way, love the article and interesting read!!
Thank you for the nice comments! Thats a great point and definitely a potential cause of concern as space gets more crowded and becomes a more active theater for nations to challenge each other.
Very interesting article, of course the other side of the market is those customers who can't or won't launch on a US vehicle for either country of origin issues or commerical preference, that opens up a different market and then of course there is in-orbit manufacturing which is yet to manifest as a new market but has high potential.
Thanks for the comment and great points! Definitely should be a need for some small launch providers outside the US as well, especially for those national security launches. As other space-based capabilities like in-orbit manufacturing mature, hopefully that will drive more demand for small launch as well!
Awesome write up! What kinds of interesting things are gonna go up in these smaller payloads as prices come down?
Thank you! The lower launch costs are enabling everything from university student satellites to large companies sending up hundreds of imagery satellites at a time in a more affordable way.
Interesting stuff. Question about the Cosmic Girl / LauncherOne scenario: What precautions do they take to prevent the very inconvenient possibility that the rocket, once fired up, will collide with the plane? Do they just rely on physics, trajectories, and momentum, or is there some active collision prevention?
Thanks for the great question! Once LauncherOne is dropped, Cosmic Girl will quickly turn to the side to try to put some distance between it and the rocket. There is also a bit of a delay after LauncherOne is dropped and before the engine lights. In addition, the rocket has automatic and manually operated flight termination systems to shut down the engine in case the rocket starts veering off course.
As always, a very well written article that helps me get a deep dive into the space industry despite me entering with very little knowledge of the topic. Miniaturized satellites seems like a fantastic development and is somewhat mind-blowing, but also raises questions for me about detectability. Would it be easier for potentially hostile players to disguise powerful miniature satellites as though they are simply space debris? Either way, love the article and interesting read!!
Thank you for the nice comments! Thats a great point and definitely a potential cause of concern as space gets more crowded and becomes a more active theater for nations to challenge each other.