SpaceX Expands and Simplifies Small Satellite Rideshare Program
The market for small satellites -- and the small rockets to launch them -- is hot, hot, hot!
Hardly a month goes by without some new development in this space, whether it's Rocket Lab reaching a new milestone in small rockets launched, or one of Sir Richard Branson's "Virgin" companies announcing some new twist to the rockets story. Last month, though, it was SpaceX -- better known for launching large rockets than small -- that made waves in the new space industry when it announced an upcoming series of "regularly scheduled, dedicated Falcon 9 rideshare missions" that would carry exclusively satellites massing up to 150 kilograms and put them in orbit for "as low as $2.25 million per mission."
At the time, I suggested SpaceX was attempting to disrupt the market for small rockets before it reaches critical mass, pre-empting a move to smaller rockets by offering similar services for cheaper prices. But there was still just one problem with SpaceX's plan:
Source Fool.com