RE: https://mastodon.social/@europeanspaceflight/116250688344759761
#ESA would offer an incentive of up to €50 million 💰 to encourage the usage of #Ariane6 or another European 🇪🇺 launch vehicle
Space-based #solar ☀️ power : #ScienceFiction author Isaac #Asimov popularised the idea in 📆 1941. Advances in #robotics, wireless power transmission and sharply falling #LaunchCost are narrowing the gap between concept and reality https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347692/why-chinas-space-based-solar-power-next-frontier-green-energy
#FalconHeavy has a cost per kilogram to #LEO of approximately $1,400 💵 per kg. The cost per kilogram to orbit using the #SpaceX #Starship is approximately $94 🪙 https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2025/01/spacex-starship-roadmap-to-100-times-lower-cost-launch.html
"...a single #Artemis launch at least $4.2 billion" 💰💰💰💰#NASA Office of Inspector General May 25, 2023 https://oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IG-23-015.pdf (page 14/20)
For $90 million, in one single launch, Voyager will put in orbit a #SpaceStation with 400 cubic meters of volume, able to support 100% of the work that's currently being done aboard #ISS https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/03/21/how-much-will-a-spacex-starship-launch-cost/
RE: https://mastodon.social/@europeanspaceflight/116250688344759761
#ESA would offer an incentive of up to €50 million 💰 to encourage the usage of #Ariane6 or another European 🇪🇺 launch vehicle
@euspa* says they have no idea about the #Ariane6 costs 🤔🙈 https://fragdenstaat.de/dokumente/275068-replytoaccdocrequest-2026-1_geschwaerzt/
Such as
• Standard launch costs for Ariane 6 (per variant)
• The launch price for #Amazon
• The amount of #subsidies 💰 per launch, including and excluding development costs
* "charged with advancing the #commercialisation and market uptake of #EU 🇪🇺 Space data and services" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_Agency_for_the_Space_Programme#Overview
#NewGlenn is giving the #Falcon9 and especially the #FalconHeavy a run for its money. #Starship's low launch costs, high cadence, and massive payload bay could turn the industry on its head https://spaceinsider.tech/2025/01/10/new-glenn-vs-starship-a-detailed-comparison-in-2025
Until Starship begins commercial operations, New Glenn’s 7-m-diameter 📏 fairing may be the best option for customers whose spacecraft don’t fit in the roughly 5 m fairings of Falcons and #ULA’s #Vulcan, or to launch more spacecraft at a time https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/two-launches-two-companies-two-billionaires
#NewGlenn:
#Arianespace estimated the launch price to be around $68 million. This would give it the price-per-kilo ratio of $1,511/kg (#SpaceX’s #Falcon9 sits at about $3,986/kg with a fat profit margin).
#Starship is estimated to cost $100 million a pop, but Musk estimates launch costs could drop to $10 million (or even less). How much SpaceX plans to charge customers per flight is still unclear https://spaceinsider.tech/2025/01/10/new-glenn-vs-starship-a-detailed-comparison-in-2025/