The numbers don’t lie—NASA’s move to commercial space has saved money

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From Ars Technica:
"When NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken blast off inside a Crew Dragon spacecraft later this month, they will not only launch into space. They will also inaugurate a potentially transformative era for the space agency.

No private company has ever launched humans into orbit before. Therefore the success of their mission, and others to come in the near future, may go a long way toward determining whether the promise of commercial spaceflight and lower cost access to space becomes the new reality."

https://arstechnica.com/features/2020/0 ... ved-money/

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From the Ars Technica Rock Report today:
"Medium Rockets"

"NASA got a stunning value in the Falcon 9. With the first flight of humans atop a Falcon 9 rocket coming as early as next Wednesday, Ars takes a look back at the origins of NASA's commercial crew and cargo programs. As part of its initial investment of $396 million into SpaceX, NASA got development of the Cargo Dragon, Falcon 9, and a launch site at Cape Canaveral.

A cost of 50 times more ... At the same time, NASA was developing the Ares I rocket to fly crew into low Earth orbit. Independent estimates placed the cost of Ares I at about $20 billion. President Obama ultimately canceled the Ares I, projected to have a similar lift capacity to the modern Falcon 9 booster, because it was behind schedule and over budget. The agency, in turn, got a bargain."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05 ... n-delayed/

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[Ylem]

Really makes Boeing and Lockheed look like Losers...