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Yes, as long as radiation only causes upsets and not permanent failures — satellites are somewhat expensive — and as long as software can detect faults and reset.


4000 satellites is enough to hit economies of scale. Per piece they are probably among the cheapest satellites in orbit.


Sure, but that isn't saying an awful lot; most satellites are very expensive. SpaceX would want to weigh the cost of hardening the system against radiation versus the cost of another launch to replace failure(s). I'd guess radiation-hardening of some kind (at least sufficient to prevent most permanent damage) would win out in that calculation, but I'll happily admit I don't have any particular factual basis for that guess.




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