3 ms·

The US govt isn't the only customer though, if I'm not mistaken they're paying the market price just as everyone else? Sure they subsidise launch prices by crea

by runj__ 6y ago

The US govt isn't the only customer though, if I'm not mistaken they're paying the market price just as everyone else? Sure they subsidise launch prices by creating a market, but they do that for all companies, right? SpaceX doesn't win all contracts.

macspoofing 6y ago
Well .. there was a couple recent news reports that U.S. Space Force paid out $316 million for a single mission[1]. The excuse was that this high fee was required in order to make capital investments to the infrastructure ... So if the government pays for you to build out your infrastructure you then own and use to secure other contracts ... isn't that a subsidy? Do you not think that will make SpaceX more competitive in the market? ULA got similar treatment, so I'm not saying it's all SpaceX but they are living off of government dole (in a way that is more than just providing a competitive service to the government) [1]https://spacenews.com/spacex-explains-why-the-u-s-space-force-is-paying-316-million-for-a-single-launch/ https://spacenews.com/spacex-explains-why-the-u-s-space-forc...
- Denvercoder9 6y ago
  > So if the government pays for you to build out your infrastructure you then own and use to secure other contracts ... isn't that a subsidy? The other contracts are key here. It's very unlikely that the vertical integration facility will be used for anything else than US government missions, as vertical integration is basically only useful for spy satellites. Without more details it's hard to judge whether the same is true for the West Coast upgrades and extended fairing, but it wouldn't surprise me if we see those only being used for government contracts.
- jccooper 6y ago
  If a customer wants capabilites you don't have, and don't otherwise have a use for, they get to pay for it. The customer being a government doesn't make it a subsidy.
- thinkcontext 6y ago
  The government paid for the development of that same infrastructure for ULA in the past so its not specific to SpaceX. National security is a unique customer with very specific needs, if they want it they'll have to pay for it.

by runj__ 6y ago

macspoofing 6y ago

Well .. there was a couple recent news reports that U.S. Space Force paid out $316 million for a single mission[1]. The excuse was that this high fee was required in order to make capital investments to the infrastructure ... So if the government pays for you to build out your infrastructure you then own and use to secure other contracts ... isn't that a subsidy? Do you not think that will make SpaceX more competitive in the market? ULA got similar treatment, so I'm not saying it's all SpaceX but they are living off of government dole (in a way that is more than just providing a competitive service to the government) [1]https://spacenews.com/spacex-explains-why-the-u-s-space-force-is-paying-316-million-for-a-single-launch/ https://spacenews.com/spacex-explains-why-the-u-s-space-forc...

Denvercoder9 6y ago
> So if the government pays for you to build out your infrastructure you then own and use to secure other contracts ... isn't that a subsidy? The other contracts are key here. It's very unlikely that the vertical integration facility will be used for anything else than US government missions, as vertical integration is basically only useful for spy satellites. Without more details it's hard to judge whether the same is true for the West Coast upgrades and extended fairing, but it wouldn't surprise me if we see those only being used for government contracts.
jccooper 6y ago
If a customer wants capabilites you don't have, and don't otherwise have a use for, they get to pay for it. The customer being a government doesn't make it a subsidy.
thinkcontext 6y ago
The government paid for the development of that same infrastructure for ULA in the past so its not specific to SpaceX. National security is a unique customer with very specific needs, if they want it they'll have to pay for it.