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well today i was thinking, why nobody do something like the SS-520 but comercial? a small rocket entry dedicated to launch a cubesat, that probably go to have a lot of adventages and probably is realy cost efficient, right now i see arround 30k USD / kg (to LEO) so, if u build the entry rocket for arround 15k, you still have a gain and a good price. Any know why?

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  • $\begingroup$ I think this has been answered before. Small rockets are possible but tend not to be economically viable due to all the fixed costs. it ends up being more efficient cost-wise and industrially to launch several satellites on a rocket that's at least moderately larger such as an electron. $\endgroup$
    – ikrase
    Dec 9, 2020 at 3:21
  • $\begingroup$ @ikrase yes, well, but the portability (you can launch a SS-520 from a truck), fexibility (depending on the launch angle you will get a greater height of apogee) and simplicity of a litle rocket dont make sense? I mean, right now alot of amateur and small agencies are launching 1U or 2U cubesats (that if u think, is a lot space to carry experiments, communication relays, meteorological satellites or even to take photos. Im just guessing, the Electron rocket is very good in therms of efficiency, but if we combine and we do an small solid fuel cubesat to LEO rocket? What do u think? $\endgroup$
    – Valentino Zaffrani
    Dec 9, 2020 at 7:46
  • $\begingroup$ "if u build the entry rocket for around 15k" That's a big "if", i.e. a hard premise to defend. It is true that the way the SS-520 is set up the avionics are minimal (it has to not look like a potential weapon, so it just does a natural gravity turn I think) but good luck making even the engine itself for 15k, or even the combustion chamber, or even a reliable nozzle! Filing the paperwork alone might cost that much. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Dec 9, 2020 at 15:02
  • $\begingroup$ Some commercial firm is proposing to launch the equivalent of a "second stage" from a high-altitude jet aircraft for just this sort of purpose. $\endgroup$
    – Carl Witthoft
    Dec 9, 2020 at 15:41
  • $\begingroup$ @CarlWitthoft NASA try a project like that arround 2009 i think, but no success. They launch a sounding rocket (single stage) from a F jet but the rocket dont make orbit $\endgroup$
    – Valentino Zaffrani
    Dec 9, 2020 at 17:43

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