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SpaceX Recovered $6 Million Fairings So Falcon Heavy Will Be 92% Reusable

• https://www.nextbigfuture.com

Elon Musk tweeted that both SpaceX Falcon Heavy payload fairings were recovered for the first time. They will be reused on the Starlink satellite launch mission.

The two side boosters and the center core were landed and will be reused.

This means that SpaceX will be able to reuse 92% of this Falcon Heavy launch. Only the roughly $7.5 million second stage will not be reused.

I think the rough costs of SpaceX Falcon Heavy components are

$30 million for each of the three first stage boosters. Actually slightly more for the center booster.
$7.5 million for the second stage
$6 million is the combined cost of the two fairing halves. These are the nose cone covers of the payload.

Reusing three engines and a fairing would be $96 million out of $103.5 million.

These are Block 5 first stage boosters. Those are being shown on a Falcon 9 to be reusable for at least four launches and SpaceX has designed them for ten reuses before refurbishment.

The three first stage boosters would be $12 million for the ten reuse assumption. $30 million each and then $10 million for ten recoveries and repairs.


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