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If in the late 1990s the global launch services market was worth about $1.6 billion, it is now only worth $0.6 billion. Competition has increased sharply. Clients used to pay about $70 million for a Proton launch (the Proton is the most reliable heavy rocket in the world). Now the price has come down to little more than the cost of the rocket itself (estimated at $40 million).
However even at this price it is still worth doing. . Regular launches not only generate income, but also allow production to continue and space centers to be maintained.
Military rockets converted to civilian use are widely used on the launch services market. These are rockets that are being decommissioned under the offensive weapons reduction agreement and are earmarked for destruction. Doing this through space launches has two advantages: firstly, the condition of a rocket that is to remain in service for a few more years can be ascertained from the launch, and secondly, foreign clients are paying for satellite launches.
The new Soyuz-2 rocket may prove profitable for Russia. The Federal Space Agency and the ESA plan to carry out joint Soyuz-2 commercial launches from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. The people responsible for marketing the Soyuz launches are promising to bring in contracts worth up to ˆ1 billion - that is about 40 launches in the next 10 years at ˆ25 million each.
Regular Soyuz at $25 million & Proton at $40 million?
Hmmm. . . .
Give someone a sufficient [b][i]why[/i][/b] and they can endure just about any [b][i]how[/i][/b]
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I guess costs will drop even further once we have the private industry there for competition.
And with dropping costs we might reach profitability for things like 0 g materials production or energy from space (space tourism, too of course).
Once we get the first tether system into orbit things will probably begin to change even more drastically.
Add to that the beginning space race between China, Japan and maybe India and I can tell you I'm looking quite optimistic into the future - at the moment. I hope it stays like that.
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we have also started talking about russian vehicles in this other thread as well since the progress an soyuz are very simular then it would also mean a lower cost for manned flight is also possible.
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