What is the benefit of launching a satellite "a few days before the monthly report"
I've seen this hint in the game as well as on this site and I've been wondering if there is any specific advantage to launching satellites closer to the monthly report rather than any time during that month.
The way I see it, monthly maintenance costs are taken out during the reports (correct me if i'm wrong), so regardless of when you launch it during the month it would cost the same.
Is the benefit of holding on to them longer simply a safety net in case some countries go into the red during that time?
The effects of launching a satellite are:
- Immediate panic reduction in the country you launch the satellite in.
- Monthly income from the country you are providing satellite coverage to.
Waiting until month end to launch satellites is the most efficient way to manage panic without losing out on the funding increases from satellite coverage.
If a country is already at max panic and something happens to panic that country again, there is no effect. So by waiting, sometimes you can have a country at max panic "absorb" some panic that you would have needed to deal with if you launched the satellites earlier.
There is no funding benefit for an early launch. As long the satellite is launched before the council report at the end of the month, you get full funding from that country when the council gives its month-end report. The funding increases easily offset any maintenance costs.
Launching a satellite instantly drops panic in a country.
Therefore, if a country is likely to leave the XCOM alliance at the end of the month, launching a satellite is a good way to keep them in. However, if they panic further between the time you launch the satellite and the end of the month, you may lose them (and any satellite benefits) anyhow.
On the other hand, if they panic further while at max panic, there's no additional penalty.
Therefore, you're better off waiting until almost the end of the month to reduce their panic level, in the hopes that the one-time panic drop "saves" a country's dedication to the alliance.
Adding on to the other answers:
Wasted Potential
Say you launch early in the month, there's always a chance for attacks to occur in the area you launched that you can't respond to, wasting the panic reduction granted by that satellite for the month.
Efficient Allocation of Resources
One of the main challenges of xcom is resource management. Waiting until the end of the month to launch allows you to look at the big picture before committing a 1 time use resource. Lots of things will change over the course of the month and what you planned to do initially might not work out at the end of the month.
I believe that, even though the funding and continent bonuses are gained immediately, abductions are only prevented in countries that had a sattelite IN ORBIT at the BEGINNING of the month.
Therefore it can be beneficial to launch them just early enough so that they reach orbit before the month concludes, else that country may still see abductions until the next report.