VMan, //....Meanwhile, I heard from a secret source that Ariane 5 can lift 40 Globalstar satellites [18 - 20T] at a time
That is, if they could fit them all inside the fairing and have a crack crew to acquire them once dispensed!!! Minor details though. Just cram as many inside there as you can, light fuse, step away.//
Details, details! Even if they can only squash 10 in, having 40 out of 41 successes is better than firing Zenits into the dirt [even though that is a very economically productive thing to do according to some people]. I figure rockets will all cost more or less the same once the bugs are figured out and the production rate makes unit costs low and that cost is going to be much cheaper than now.
Basically, they are just long aluminium or plastic tubes with some hydrazine or something to burn and a fuse. Sounds cheap enough. They just need to get the o'rings and exhaust pipes done up properly, and not forget to undo the mooring rope when launching [silly Zenit people!].
It's good that the technological trends all favour Globalstar. Now, if only we could get the marketers to slay ICO before it even starts. Once it's launched, it's too late and the devaluation of minute prices will be inevitable. There is NOT plenty of market for everyone and never was, despite on this very thread a couple of years ago claims being made to the effect that there was plenty of market for everyone. Iridium has learned to their great cost some harsh facts of life in the commercial world.
There are a lot of people involved in Globalstar from the old military satellite era and the whole industry is imbued with big time, government, detailed engineering designs leaving no factors uncontrolled, structured business plans and cash flow forecasts.
These are all very well, but the commercial world is a wild animal and customers are in charge, not the system planners. The system planners can put the system in space, but it is the customers who decide how financially successful it will be. The customers set the price. They have set Iridium's price lower. Iridium doesn't know it yet, but they'll learn.
Globalstar should realize the competition will be severe and a gentle easing into the market to see if the $1.50 retail price will work out is giving competitors a chance and delaying Globalstar success while creating a very, very large number of rotten tomatoes. ICO needs to be skooshed before they even launch.
The way to do that is show that ICO won't be able to compete. That means undercutting them before they launch, filling the constellation flat out and rapidly improving the service.
Build, build, build! Launch, launch, launch!! Cut the prices, fill the sky with Globalstar minutes. Make the Service Providers compete for the available handsets and minutes - slow, greedy ones will miss out. Lower priced Service Providers who sell good plans to their customers will sell the minutes and make the money.
Mqurice
PS: The Globalstar people probably think they can start out at $1.50 and lower it if it is slow. That devalues the attention they'll get and gives them a slow start with a reduced NPV. Better to start out with the first 30,000 subscribers getting a year of free minutes and raising the price as demand builds. |
