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They don't seem to have the kind of drive that SpaceX has. And their secretiveness is not causing space fans to be enamored of them. SpaceX by contrast is quite

They don't seem to have the kind of drive that SpaceX has. And their secretiveness is not causing space fans to be enamored of them. SpaceX by contrast is quite open (with Elon often speculating on Twitter with fans about the cause of a test failure within minutes of it happening). That open approach is definitely delivering public mindshare that seems to be helping them.

generalizations 6y ago
> seems to be helping them I love that SpaceX is so open, but I'm not sure what material 'help' that actually gives them. I mean, I doubt NASA gives Spacex special consideration because they're popular.
- petertodd 6y ago
  The biggest help might be in attracting really talented employees willing to work for affordable wages, and keeping those employees excited enough to keep pushing hard.
- Laremere 6y ago
  It's definitely a strong recruiting tool. SpaceX is known to work you harder for less money than other firms, but they can get people who are invested in the vision of the company. Also at this point there's been enough time for a high schooler to be inspired by SpaceX's first rocket booster landing, decided to go to college in a relevant field with the sole purpose of working at SpaceX, graduated, and gotten a job. I'm sure the popularity is also helping with demand for starling.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - ObserverNeutral 6y ago
    > Recruiting tool Smart people (the kind you need in a rocket company to do the heavy lifting -pun intended-) don't want to work for loud people such as Musk. Matter of fact they are disgusted by them. All Musk companies have in common a huge lack of a particular demographic which is deemed to be both "book smart" as well as "street smart", ask yourself why is that. Academically smart people with just a bit of street smartness do tolerate people like Jim Simons or John Overdeck as their bosses, but those guys are the best bosses in corporate America...and by the way they also belong to that particulare demographic. They absolutely despise loud individuals such as Musk or Cuban or the former host of reality tv show "the apprentice ".
  - birdyrooster 6y ago
    Not surprising to hear SpaceX being anti-labor given Tesla. Being worked harder for less money is not what you want to hear as a laborer. Of course, to me, I am neutral on rich whites spending their unusual and overinflated net worths as fodder for a billionaire sociopath, but the implications for everyone at SpaceX makes it clear that their labor stance is racist. Thanks for sharing.
    - Laremere 6y ago
      It's not anti-labor per se. It's that working for a company which has that goal, vision, and track record SpaceX does is part of the compensation package.
    - fastball 6y ago
      > racist wat.
      - Mountain_Skies 6y ago
        SpaceX was investigated for only hiring US citizens and permanent residents for jobs that are legally required to only be filled with US citizens and permanent residents.
lai-yin 6y ago
I've heard Bezos' approach with Blue Origin compared to the 'tortoise and the hare' allegory. Slow and steady may work when your talented opponent is taking naps along the racetrack, it doesn't work when they are as driven as the SpaceX team.
- Swenrekcah 6y ago
  But it’s not necessarily a race with a winner and a loser. The second or third or tenth company to develop reliable reusable rockets will get plenty of business in the coming decades. I have a lot of faith in SpaceX and not a whole lot in Blue Origin but that’s also because I don’t know anything about them. Their success doesn’t depend upon my faith in any case.
  - greedo 6y ago
    Will they get plenty of business? I think that's questionable, with the exception of US policy supporting multiple launcher availability for national security reasons. Otherwise, I think that if BO doesn't start demonstrating reusable orbital rockets in the next 2 years, SpaceX will gut them on cost.
    - nexuist 6y ago
      BO doesn't have the same publicly stated goals as SpaceX so it seems kind of silly to compare them. AFAIK their primary goal is to enable space tourism with reusable rockets with rapid turnaround. This is much different than SpaceX, who want to jumpstart a Mars colony. Their technological needs are worlds (planets?) apart.
      - greedo 6y ago
        So SpaceX, which is planning on flying a rich artist around the Moon isn't interested in space tourism? And we do know some of BO's goals; they want to have a Starlink like system. That's in direct competition with SpaceX, and SpaceX is far and away the leader in this field. If you look at it in terms of capabilities, SpaceX checks all the boxes; reusable rockets, rapid turnaround, lowest cost. Once Starship is usable for payloads, no other launch provider will be able to compete.
Dahoon 6y ago
It's also a bit of a cult. They even chant at launches ("USA! USA! USA!") and do serval other things which are straight out of some pretty horrific textbooks on human psychology and (mis)management.

generalizations 6y ago

> seems to be helping them I love that SpaceX is so open, but I'm not sure what material 'help' that actually gives them. I mean, I doubt NASA gives Spacex special consideration because they're popular.

petertodd 6y ago
The biggest help might be in attracting really talented employees willing to work for affordable wages, and keeping those employees excited enough to keep pushing hard.
Laremere 6y ago
It's definitely a strong recruiting tool. SpaceX is known to work you harder for less money than other firms, but they can get people who are invested in the vision of the company. Also at this point there's been enough time for a high schooler to be inspired by SpaceX's first rocket booster landing, decided to go to college in a relevant field with the sole purpose of working at SpaceX, graduated, and gotten a job. I'm sure the popularity is also helping with demand for starling.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- ObserverNeutral 6y ago
  > Recruiting tool Smart people (the kind you need in a rocket company to do the heavy lifting -pun intended-) don't want to work for loud people such as Musk. Matter of fact they are disgusted by them. All Musk companies have in common a huge lack of a particular demographic which is deemed to be both "book smart" as well as "street smart", ask yourself why is that. Academically smart people with just a bit of street smartness do tolerate people like Jim Simons or John Overdeck as their bosses, but those guys are the best bosses in corporate America...and by the way they also belong to that particulare demographic. They absolutely despise loud individuals such as Musk or Cuban or the former host of reality tv show "the apprentice ".
- birdyrooster 6y ago
  Not surprising to hear SpaceX being anti-labor given Tesla. Being worked harder for less money is not what you want to hear as a laborer. Of course, to me, I am neutral on rich whites spending their unusual and overinflated net worths as fodder for a billionaire sociopath, but the implications for everyone at SpaceX makes it clear that their labor stance is racist. Thanks for sharing.
  - Laremere 6y ago
    It's not anti-labor per se. It's that working for a company which has that goal, vision, and track record SpaceX does is part of the compensation package.
  - fastball 6y ago
    > racist wat.
    - Mountain_Skies 6y ago
      SpaceX was investigated for only hiring US citizens and permanent residents for jobs that are legally required to only be filled with US citizens and permanent residents.

lai-yin 6y ago

I've heard Bezos' approach with Blue Origin compared to the 'tortoise and the hare' allegory. Slow and steady may work when your talented opponent is taking naps along the racetrack, it doesn't work when they are as driven as the SpaceX team.

Swenrekcah 6y ago
But it’s not necessarily a race with a winner and a loser. The second or third or tenth company to develop reliable reusable rockets will get plenty of business in the coming decades. I have a lot of faith in SpaceX and not a whole lot in Blue Origin but that’s also because I don’t know anything about them. Their success doesn’t depend upon my faith in any case.
- greedo 6y ago
  Will they get plenty of business? I think that's questionable, with the exception of US policy supporting multiple launcher availability for national security reasons. Otherwise, I think that if BO doesn't start demonstrating reusable orbital rockets in the next 2 years, SpaceX will gut them on cost.
  - nexuist 6y ago
    BO doesn't have the same publicly stated goals as SpaceX so it seems kind of silly to compare them. AFAIK their primary goal is to enable space tourism with reusable rockets with rapid turnaround. This is much different than SpaceX, who want to jumpstart a Mars colony. Their technological needs are worlds (planets?) apart.
    - greedo 6y ago
      So SpaceX, which is planning on flying a rich artist around the Moon isn't interested in space tourism? And we do know some of BO's goals; they want to have a Starlink like system. That's in direct competition with SpaceX, and SpaceX is far and away the leader in this field. If you look at it in terms of capabilities, SpaceX checks all the boxes; reusable rockets, rapid turnaround, lowest cost. Once Starship is usable for payloads, no other launch provider will be able to compete.

Dahoon 6y ago

It's also a bit of a cult. They even chant at launches ("USA! USA! USA!") and do serval other things which are straight out of some pretty horrific textbooks on human psychology and (mis)management.