Japan's rocket can only be used on certain months of the year in order to protect Japan's fishing fleet. India's launcher is not able to handle - yet - the five tonne demands of commercial satellite Operators. China's launcher is cheap and reliable, but 'Western' satellites are forbidden to use a Chinese launcher if the satellite contains American components. Sea Launch suffered a catastrophic loss in January 2007 and is still labouring under the fallout from that explosion. Besides, Sea Launch is also expensive, and operators are looking to save cash not spend more on what some still see as a risky venture. Which brings us back to Falcon.
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