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Perspective: SpaceX total expenditures $0.4B Result: Launch vehicle developed, capsule successfully launched into orbit and recovered Government-run Constell
by marze 16y ago
Perspective:
SpaceX total expenditures $0.4B
Result: Launch vehicle developed, capsule successfully launched into orbit and recovered
Government-run Constellation program total expenditures $10B
Result: at least eight years and $15B from such a test
Score: 1-0 private sector
- krschultz 16y agoDoesn't SpaceX have a $1.6B contract with Nasa right now? edit, 1.9B contract, 600M spent by SpaceX so far, 300M of that from NASA, the rest from private money. Don't forget, NASA is nursing the private industry to life. They're not stupid, they know their budget would go much farther if they had cheap access to launch into space. Constellation was largely welfare for Boeing and Lockheed.
- marze 16y agoThe large contract with NASA is for future launch services, NASA has only paid SpaceX $250M or so to date. Bang for buck is good, $1/4B vs $25B for Constellation.
- hartror 16y agoTo be fair to NASA, Constellation was a human space flight program with the ultimate aim of leaving LEO (Low Earth Orbit) so it is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison. I am not however excusing the Constellation program, it is a sad chapter in NASA's history and one they may never come back from.