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 approac

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.