Maiden flight risk
Surcharge on a new launcher's first commercial flight: the vehicle has no reliability record yet, and this is statistically the most accident-prone stretch of its career.
Maiden flight risk is the surcharge applied to a new launcher's very first commercial flight, when the vehicle has no reliability record of its own. Industry statistics show failure rates that are structurally higher on first flights than across a mature fleet. Design, integration or procedural flaws usually surface on the very first real flights, under conditions ground testing cannot fully reproduce. An insurer covering a satellite on a new launcher's first flight therefore charges a markedly higher premium than on a proven vehicle, and some operators wait until the vehicle has a few successful flights before putting their most valuable payload on it. The risk then falls quickly with each successful flight, and the premium converges on the market rate as the launcher proves itself. That leaves the operator with a trade-off: a new vehicle is often cheaper, but its reliability is still unproven, and the actuary charges for it.
The maiden flight of Ariane 5, on June 4, 1996, ended in self-destruction thirty-seven seconds after liftoff, caused by a guidance software error. Its payload was destroyed.
maiden flight risk, first flight risk, new launcher risk
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