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Replies

Chase Million @millionconcepts.com · 21/08/2026

Aside from orbital data centers being bullshit, which they are... I've been assured for a while that Falcon 9 is cheap to launch and very profitable for SpaceX, even though there's no proof of that. If so, why would they be retiring it so soon? Even if Starship works, F9 would still make money.

Tim Fernholz@timfernholz.com

here's a wild exclusive--just months after raising $170 million, orbital data center startup Starcloud raises a $250 million extension, with $25 million from Nvidia. Why? We're running out of rockets. techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/s...

techcrunch.com

Starcloud raises $250 million for orbital data centers as launch options dry up | TechCrunch

There's about to be a big fight to secure access to space.

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Chase Million @millionconcepts.com · 21/08/2026

The is related to the claim (without proof) that Falcon Heavy costs about half as much per kg to LEO as Falcon 9. If that is true, why doesn't SpaceX use Falcon Heavy to launch Starlink?

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Chase Million @millionconcepts.com · 21/08/2026

And separate, but these passages from Wikipedia illustrate some of the sloppy thinking around launch costs: 1. World's richest liar said a thing, so we'll run with that. 2. Ignore capital expenditures when determining "profitability." ($500M revenue only covers $500M R&D if rockets cost nothing.)

Musk first mentioned Falcon Heavy in a September 2005 news update, referring to a customer request from 18 months prior.[19] Various solutions using the planned Falcon 5 (which was never flown) had been explored, but the only cost-effective, reliable iteration was one that used a 9-engine first stage—the Falcon 9. The Falcon Heavy was developed using private capital with Musk stating that the cost was more than US$500 million. No government financing was provided for its development.

A year after the successful demo flight, SpaceX had signed five commercial contracts worth US$500–750 million, meaning that it had managed to cover the development cost of the rocket.[51] The second flight, and first commercial one, occurred on April 11, 2019,[52] launching Arabsat-6A, with all three boosters landing successfully for the first time.

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