It was reported on December 14 that SpaceX successfully launched Sirius XM's latest radio satellite on Sunday, local time, using the repeatedly recovered Falcon 9 rocket booster, setting a new reusable record.

The satellite, named sxm-7, weighs about 7 tons and is carried off by the Falcon 9 booster b1051, marking the seventh successful launch and recovery of the booster. It is also the first time that SpaceX has used six recovered boosters in commercial launch missions of non satellite chain satellites.

In 2020, the company completed 14 launches of the satellite chain, which brought significant benefits. With such a huge internal launch mission, SpaceX has been able to quickly break through the limit of reusable booster of Falcon 9 rocket, completing the seventh launch of booster. Frequent satellite chain mission launches also mean that the boosters supporting SpaceX's 25 missions this year have completed an average of 3.5 flights so far.

Because SpaceX has plenty of internal launch opportunities, the company is also able to demonstrate the reliability of the Falcon 9 booster for re-use. Sirius XM was one of the first commercial customers to launch payloads using six recycled Falcon 9 boosters, but SpaceX itself has successfully launched and recovered Falcon 9 boosters several times, up to seven times.

At the same time, the launch also gives SpaceX more confidence in the re-use of its fairings, as sxm-7 marks the first time the company has ever used recycled fairings in commercial launches, and SpaceX has reused fairings 13 times.

These achievements may allow SpaceX to offer greater discounts when marketing non satellite payloads that are willing to use multiple recovery boosters or fairings. For example, SpaceX could save about $2.5 million using only half of the fairing recycled, and the company may offer a discount of more than $500000 to $1 million to sirus XM.

In addition, Sirius XM, the first customer to launch with six recycled Falcon 9 booster boosters, is likely to receive a larger discount of $5 million to $10 million. It is believed that SpaceX's internal satellite linked satellite launch cost is only $15 million or less (excluding satellite production). Although the cost of launching a geostationary satellite may be the lowest in the world, it is almost certain that it will still be profitable.

At the same time, thanks to the seventh successful recovery of b1051, SpaceX already has two Falcon 9 rocket boosters that have been launched and recycled seven times. It is expected to achieve the eighth, ninth, tenth and even more reusable rocket boosters in 2021, which is closer to achieving Musk's "small target" of 10 launches previously set by musk. (small)

Source: Netease technology report, translated by Baidu