Comment Re:30% markup for theater - or foul play? (Score 1) 93
Government contract (and the fact government cargo are self-insured) means higher price tag. Both NASA and NRO launch are about 30% more expensive than civilian launch due to additional requirements that civilian customer don't care about. ESA is not getting price gauged. They're paying exactly for what they want, and this is still cheaper than Ariane 6, never mind Ariane 5.