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Only because of Elon and team, and a huge brick of money that NASA gave them.

CydeWeys 6y ago
Those huge bricks of money aren't going anywhere. SpaceX (or anyone else) aren't flying missions for the government for free!
briffle 6y ago
Which doesn't seem as large, when you calculate it out in number of shuttle launches you could do with that cash.
- kitsunesoba 6y ago
  Or compare it to how much has been spent on SLS, which has yet to net any return aside from keeping people employed (which probably could've been accomplished on a much smaller budget).
dralley 6y ago
Yes, but it needs to be said that the "huge brick of money" was half of what NASA gave Boeing (which is itself just a tiny proportion of Boeing's profit). And look where we are.
mlindner 6y ago
NASA's budget hasn't increased though. So everything that's changed dramatically is because of knock-on effects of SpaceX's activities and the private funding it has.
Robotbeat 6y ago
Yes, a big bet by NASA that has paid off beyond just about anyone’s imagination. SpaceX is a massive vindication of NASA and the commercial contracting approach. The US had been falling behind Russia and then China in launch capacity (even becoming reliant on Russian engines as well as Europe on commercial launch, but last year, SpaceX on Falcon 9 alone launched more mass to orbit than the rest of the world combined. Almost everything NASA builds is built by contractors. Private companies like Boeing or Lockheed usually get most of it. But just by taking a chance with SpaceX during commercial cargo, NASA saved them and brought American space launch capacity to a level that dominates the world. And Starship brings it to another entire level. To get a lunar Starship to the surface and back to orbit will require about half a dozen Starship launch, each about 100-150 tons IMLEO each. A single one of these missions is about the same launch capacity as all successful Apollo lunar surface missions combined. Which makes sense when you see lunar Starship side by side with the Apollo LM: https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/mslpce/starship_hls_vs_apollo_lm_to_scale/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/mslpce/starsh... It finally feels like we’re where we ought to be in the 21st Century with respect to Spaceflight.

Those huge bricks of money aren't going anywhere. SpaceX (or anyone else) aren't flying missions for the government for free!

briffle 6y ago

Which doesn't seem as large, when you calculate it out in number of shuttle launches you could do with that cash.

kitsunesoba 6y ago
Or compare it to how much has been spent on SLS, which has yet to net any return aside from keeping people employed (which probably could've been accomplished on a much smaller budget).

dralley 6y ago

Yes, but it needs to be said that the "huge brick of money" was half of what NASA gave Boeing (which is itself just a tiny proportion of Boeing's profit). And look where we are.

mlindner 6y ago

NASA's budget hasn't increased though. So everything that's changed dramatically is because of knock-on effects of SpaceX's activities and the private funding it has.

Robotbeat 6y ago

Yes, a big bet by NASA that has paid off beyond just about anyone’s imagination. SpaceX is a massive vindication of NASA and the commercial contracting approach. The US had been falling behind Russia and then China in launch capacity (even becoming reliant on Russian engines as well as Europe on commercial launch, but last year, SpaceX on Falcon 9 alone launched more mass to orbit than the rest of the world combined. Almost everything NASA builds is built by contractors. Private companies like Boeing or Lockheed usually get most of it. But just by taking a chance with SpaceX during commercial cargo, NASA saved them and brought American space launch capacity to a level that dominates the world. And Starship brings it to another entire level. To get a lunar Starship to the surface and back to orbit will require about half a dozen Starship launch, each about 100-150 tons IMLEO each. A single one of these missions is about the same launch capacity as all successful Apollo lunar surface missions combined. Which makes sense when you see lunar Starship side by side with the Apollo LM: https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/mslpce/starship_hls_vs_apollo_lm_to_scale/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/mslpce/starsh... It finally feels like we’re where we ought to be in the 21st Century with respect to Spaceflight.