More like the customer wants a Chevy and the seller only offers Porsches.
The customer is more likely to buy the Chevy from a different seller.
Bob Clark
The Problem is: The customer in your article talks about rather buying a Chevy than a Porsche, but in reality always wants this Chevy to drive like a Porsche.
Or in less mysterious words: The claim, that satellites will become lighter by using electrostatic stationkeeping is opposite to the trend in communication satellite design, that the longer lifetime of satellites by electrostatic propulsion systems requires them to be launched with more payload (transponders), because transponders may fail in space like any analogue circuit after some years, and that additionally to the trend to build bigger satellites busses with more commercial payload because they are more effective in terms of economics. Once it is launched, a twice as heavy satellite does not cost more money than a lighter satellite, but carries about 3 times more payload. And satellites with electrostatic stationkeeping need much bigger and much heavier solar arrays and EPS components anyway, to produce enough electricity for stationkeeping at EOL.
Also, I really recommend you to study the statements of the satellite operators when the Ariane 5 was in development 20 years ago. You might find some parallels.
SpaceX has already the big problem, that they can only launch about 30% of the satellites that are planned to be launched, with the Falcon 9. They need the Falcon Heavy, which is currently lost in development hell. There is the sudden increase of the Falcon Heavy performance from 12 to 20 tons to GTO without any change in the LEO performance (which is pretty doubtful since they could only do that by reducing dry mass) last year, while also halving the launch costs (Remember the trinity of performance, costs and quality... if you increase performance and costs, what would you have to reduce...) First commercial launch of the Falcon Heavy will currently happen about at the same time as the first launch of the Ariane 5 ME. The Ariane 5 ME is scheduled for 2018, the Falcon Heavy is now announced to start commercial flights in 2017... since we are talking about SpaceX, expect 2020.
Old wisdom of software developers: Listen carefully what the customer tells you, what he wants. And then produce, what he really meant.
A much better analysis of the real situation there:
http://seradata.com/SSI/2014/03/ana...ane-5-meariane-6-eurofudge-starts-to-unravel/
Though the author is pretty superficial in many aspects (Especially the Eurofighter analogy - how much worth has a more sexy looking F-22, if that does only fly for air shows? In the end, it had always been the ugly ducklings that did the business, like Hurricane, Thud, A-10,B-52, Eurofighter).
