Back when the contracts were initially awarded the prevailing opinion was that SpaceX was the risky play that might pay off with something useful; and that Boei

Back when the contracts were initially awarded the prevailing opinion was that SpaceX was the risky play that might pay off with something useful; and that Boeing/Lockheed/WhateverMilIndustComplexMerger would be expensive but at least produce something safe and known to work if slow and expensive. As has been proven by the commercial aircraft wing; the 'reverse acquisition' ~2 decades ago put the accountants and MBA types in charge and effectively gutted the engineering, safety, and 'built it right then apply a price tag' culture the company used to have in decades past.