Ariane 5 Launch Price Revisited
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.s...169cf9618fcb5f

2005 while performing five Ariane 5 launches -
an average of $254 million per launch.
Seems sufficiently dirt cheap, especially for the nearly 10t capability
of delivering such substantial payloads into GSO.

I have a serious 10% question:
What's the translunar compact-launch (aka 1000 kg payload via
Ariane-.5) going to cost us?

I have another serious 1% question:
What's the translunar Micro-launch (aka 100 kg payload via Ariane-.05)
going to cost us?

Although I do have a couple of rather substantial items on my to-do
list, such as the VL2-TRACE and of the considerable LSE-CM/ISS
deployments to consider, that which might take all of what the most
ambitious Ariane5 can accommodate. However, since scientific satellites
as lunar orbiting missions or even as lunar/planetary probes can become
those of 10 kg or less, where's the great volume of future needs for
the full blown Ariane 5?

It seems 100 launches of the Ariane-.05 at $5 million or less per pop
becomes a little better bean-counting worthy than having accomplished
one spendy Ariane-5 launch.

Should I be asking if China can accommodate such a micro-launch for
perhaps less than $1 million?
-
Brad Guth