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Been trying to do some personal market analysis of the space market, and realized that there doesn't seem to be any kind of statistic or average regarding how much percentage the launch of a satellite represents of the total cost to develop, deploy and manage it.

I understand that this would vary based on orbit type (LEO, MEO, GEO), orbital properties (eccentricity, inclination), satellite mass and satellite payload. However, does anyone have any kind of cost comparison or ballpark so that a percentage could possibly be calculated?

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  • $\begingroup$ 50% to 10%?.... $\endgroup$ – uhoh Feb 6 '20 at 11:15
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    $\begingroup$ This varies a great deal, an average would most likely be meaningless. $\endgroup$ – GdD Feb 6 '20 at 11:45
  • $\begingroup$ Compare "standard" launch costs prior to the deployment of Falcon-9 ! $\endgroup$ – Carl Witthoft Feb 6 '20 at 14:32
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    $\begingroup$ You'll have a hard time finding references, as launching companies provide custom quotes for big satellites, and for small ones, prices vary wildly. But if you are okay with a "trust me bro" answer, I'd say within satellite+launch, 10% is launch for a big satellite, and up to 60% can be launch for a cubesat. Development costs may vary wildly, with a very good estimate being known for telecom satellites (using traditional bus and payload concepts), and be close to undetermined for scientific research or new bus in new company. $\endgroup$ – Mefitico Feb 6 '20 at 16:08

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