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NFT: U.S. Air Force Awards 'SpaceX' with $82.7 million Contract

TheBigBlueOne : 4/28/2016 11:08 am
Quote:
The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) have held on military space launches for more than a decade.

The Global Positioning System satellite will be launched in May 2018 from Florida, Air Force officials said.

The fixed-price award is the military's first competitively sourced launch service contract in more than a decade. It ends the exclusive relationship between the military and United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

ULA did not compete for the GPS launch contract, citing accounting issues, implications of trade sanctions limiting imports of its rockets' Russian-made engines and, according to a former ULA vice president, SpaceX's cut-rate pricing.

I don't know much about Elon Musk beyond the Tesla cars. Apparently his SpaceX company has $10 billion worth of contracts from NASA and other commercial interests.
SpaceX breaks Boeing-Lockheed monopoly on military space launches - ( New Window )
Great article in the WSJ this morning about Musk  
Ben in Tampa : 4/28/2016 11:20 am : link
He's maybe the greatest and most fearless entrepreneur that ever lived

He says without irony that he wants to retire to Mars
Just three years ago there was a post on BBI  
Rico : 4/28/2016 11:27 am : link
that predicted the Tesla Model S would be the next DeLorean, and it received quite a bit of support.

The Model S has now sold 140,000 cars!
Haven't read the article....  
Tesla : 4/28/2016 11:28 am : link
but I know that SpaceX is launching these satellites at a MUCH lower cost than ULA, who had basically been raping the government on these launches.

So before anyone starts with a nonsense diatribes about how Musk and SpaceX are living off US gov't welfare, realize that SpaceX is actually saving the gov't a shit ton of money here.

I don't have a pony in the race  
fkap : 4/28/2016 11:39 am : link
but, anytime you talk about gov't costs, there are many, many ways to tally it. bean counting is an art that goes well beyond simple math.

I welcome another player in the space launch game. I hope they succeed. I hope they inspire others, and that others succeed. this is the future of anything in the space exploration/supply future.
Only 82 MM?  
Giant John : 4/28/2016 12:21 pm : link
They must need new toilet seats?
#militaryindustrialcomplex  
dust_bowl : 4/28/2016 12:21 pm : link
.
#uselesspostbyaragingdouchenozzle  
Rob in CT/NYC : 4/28/2016 12:39 pm : link
...
RE: #uselesspostbyaragingdouchenozzle  
dust_bowl : 4/28/2016 1:47 pm : link
In comment 12927416 Rob in CT/NYC said:
Quote:
...
I know that was meant to make fun of me. But I laughed. Kudos. You won that exchange.
yes  
giantfan2000 : 4/28/2016 1:48 pm : link
i am anxious for SpaceX to reuse their rockets
this is when serious cost savings will kick in ..

RE: Only 82 MM?  
ron mexico : 4/28/2016 1:56 pm : link
In comment 12927347 Giant John said:
Quote:
They must need new toilet seats?


Thats what i was going to say, what can they get for $82mm? (I guess I could read the article)
FYI....  
Tesla : 4/28/2016 2:07 pm : link
Before Space X got involed ULS was charging somewhere between $225 million and $460 million. They had an $11 Billion contract with the Gov't to launch 28 satellites.

So by any measure SpaceX is saving the gov't a shit ton of money here. And this is BEFORE they start re-using the rockets, which will bring the cost way way down.

And as an added bonuses using rockets 100% manufactured in the USA, as opposed to ULS rockets which were made in Russia.



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