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simcoder t1_isq39ha wrote

Reply to comment by Tomycj in The Solar System Isn’t Ready to Deal With Humanity’s Garbage by Maxcactus

Most of the fanbase, regardless of sub, are convinced that somehow Starlink is going to pay for Mars. And Elon really hasn't laid out any specifics. The fact that he has been very, very specific about IPOing Starlink though should be a cautionary warning to anyone under the impression Starlink will pay for Mars.

And the launch market isn't really that big and doesn't really need a Starship (see Shotwell's comment). To some extent, Starlink is a make work project to give Starship something to do.

So, doubtful that's going to be a huge revenue source either.

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Tomycj t1_isq5njr wrote

I suggested r/spacex precisely because they're very rigorous, so there's little "fanbase bias", if you're looking for serious and informed arguments.

>Starlink is a make work project to give Starship something to do.

Well, if that means getting involved in a trillion dollar business, it looks like a very good use for the starship.

Shotwell was talking about human travel. The non-human space market is much bigger. And she was talking about the present. In the future, with such a railway built and working, things might change a lot.

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simcoder t1_isq7bgy wrote

I think the problem is that we really only have those couple quotes to go on and then everything else is just guesswork/fill in the blanks. Regardless of the sub you are in.

Regarding Starship revolutionizing space. The A380 was going to revolutionize air travel. But it turns out that bigger is not always better. Sometimes the flexibility you get from smaller is more important. I think that applies even more to space/LEO.

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Tomycj t1_isq8c99 wrote

Starship is not only bigger, but cheaper. It's RTLS capabilities make it very flexible in some aspects aswell.

edit: well it isn't, it's intended to be. We have yet to see it, but so far the numbers make sense.

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simcoder t1_isq8nib wrote

Well so was the A380 on a per passenger basis. But turns out there are a very limited number of routes with enough passengers to justify the sizing.

Pretty much the exact same can be said for space/LEO whether you're talking about cargo or pax.

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Tomycj t1_isqcy69 wrote

No, the same can't be said about Starship because it is intended to be cheaper than the falcon 9, and we already know that the falcon 9 has enough "routes". It's as if that big plane could also fly the common routes for a cheaper price. That's why Starship is so revolutionary.

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