On 2005-02-19, Fred J. McCall wrote:
:
:Whether Russian launchers are actually underpriced is not clear. They
:*are* inherently cheaper than Western designs, due to more automation on
roduction lines and much less manpower-intensive operations, even if you
:disregard the small matter of lower wages.

Is the 'more automation' claim really true? I find that rather hard
to believe, given the general state of Russian manufacturing. I would
think the price advantage was due to some small economies of scale
(they do build more of them), lower wage costs, and a huge currency
advantage when selling for hard currency.

Remember that Russian launchers are essentially incrementally improved
versions of old designs - and those old designs were *really* produced
in mass. (As of 2000, there had been over 1,600 R-7 launches...)

As I understand it - the factory facilities were designed for mass
production, large numbers of them in parallel, so a lot of the capacity
"lingered". Most changes were relatively minor - new upper stages,
changed engines - whilst the bulk of the hardware remained the same, so
the old production lines were still usable. Whilst there would be little
reason to introduce such capital-intensive automation *today*, were you
constructing the manufacturing facilities from scratch, it was a lot
more sensible in the 1960s. Of course, the Atlas and Delta construction
facilities are mostly new, and as such...

--
-Andrew Gray