Re: "Shows value of having 9 engines"
That's what launch insurance is for, because historically there's an element of risk with every launch.
However, a failed landing only makes a difference to SpaceX's bottom line (unless it lands on someone's head of course).
As it stands, 86 launches, with 84 successful payload insertions for the Falcon 9 (one lost in flight, one on the ground before launch) is a 97.7% success rate, which is pretty good for an orbital rocket. Antares is down around 80%, whereas Delta 2 is around 98%, Ariane 5 is about 95%.
So all in all, if you had a satellite to launch, you could feel reasonably confident putting it on a Falcon 9 that it would reach orbit, and by all accounts, their prices are some of the cheapest.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
