krackastix t1_j0nghxx wrote on December 18, 2022 at 12:20 AM

Reply to comment by ondono in SpaceX, Blue Origin Executives Tapped as US Space Council Advisers by Soupjoe5

Either way that makes zero mathmatical sense considering what they charge nasa and private companies per lb per launch.

ondono t1_j0orsaw wrote on December 18, 2022 at 7:37 AM

NASA pays way more than the stated rate, in some cases ridiculously more.

Just look up the deals and do the numbers.

toodroot t1_j0os1t6 wrote on December 18, 2022 at 7:40 AM

They do not, and it would be illegal if they did. NASA and Space Force require additional mission assurance paperwork, which SpaceX charges extra for. Sometimes they buy an extended fairing, which costs extra. But you can point to some cases, like Europa Clipper, where the contract amount is quite close to SpaceX's announced commercial price.

Halo+PPE was a lot more, but it it requires an extended fairing.

Also, check out IXPE.

ondono t1_j0os5mw wrote on December 18, 2022 at 7:42 AM

Those are some amazing fairings if they increase the cost by more than 50%!

toodroot t1_j0osdof wrote on December 18, 2022 at 7:45 AM

Development is expensive, and no doubt NASA wants a lot of oversight for a new piece of hardware.