Unreservedly, unabashedly euphorically optimistic
They will figure it out. They'll make the unavoidably expendable pieces inexpensive and quick to replace. They'll analyze the structure of every piece to determine the stresses it has undergone and remove the bits discovered to be excess. They will spend more on the parts that need changed less often. It will be made faster, cheaper, more reliable and produced in more volume. Now that they have a sample of a used orbital booster that lands, they have what they need to build one that does so every day. This was the invention - the "Eureka!" Moment. What follows is iteration, improvement, refinement. It is the Wright Flyer of reusable orbital boosters - just barely enough to survive the landing and prove the concept. What comes next from this group is the 737 of reusable orbital boosters - the pickup truck of the next generation.
Everybody else in the space launch industry had best get cracking, because SpaceX is not just undercutting them by half - they are getting a free reusable orbital booster out of each launch deal as well. That is going to break their business model. They are in the horse buggy business. That is what makes me the most excited. The gold rush is on!
Knowing it can be done is the biggest deal. Once it is known to be possible, greed and competitiveness will take us the rest of the way. No doubt in China, Russia, India, Europe are government agencies in emergency meeting to discuss how they can get in on this before the Americans claim the whole cosmos for themselves. Man is finally going to get off our little mudball and start claiming our destiny.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
