Does SpaceX sell to NASA?

NASA announced on Friday that it had awarded a contract to SpaceX for $2.9 billion to use Starship to take astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon. The contract extends NASA’s trend of relying on private companies to ferry people, cargo and robotic explorers to space.

How has SpaceX affected NASA?

SpaceX won a $3 billion NASA contract in April to use Starship for the agency’s first two missions to the moon within the next five years, including one with American astronauts on board. That mission would mark the first crewed moon landing since 1972, the year of NASA’s final Apollo mission.

How do SpaceX and NASA compete with each other?

How do SpaceX and NASA compete? They don’t. SpaceX is a for-profit company, whereas NASA is a taxpayer-funded entity free to pursue scientific discoveries that are not directly linked to financial gain. Perceptions that SpaceX and NASA are competing with one another usually relates to NASA’s Artemis program.

How does SpaceX benefit the United States?

U.S. companies now compete for a global launch market that was previously the domain of Chinese and Russian rockets. NASA also benefits by having multiple domestic and international partners able to launch spacecraft and fly crews and cargo to the International Space Station. SpaceX has helped renew the public’s interest in spaceflight.

Should we invest in space exploration?

Space exploration and scientific discoveries require long-term public support and investment. Humans may even have a moral obligation to explore the cosmos . NASA is also vastly larger, spending tens of billions of dollars every year on hundreds of major projects while SpaceX spends millions of dollars on a select few.

Can SpaceX’s Starship land on the Moon?

SpaceX’s HLS Starship, designed to land on the Moon, leans on the company’s tested Raptor engines and flight heritage of the Falcon and Dragon vehicles. Starship includes a spacious cabin and two airlocks for astronaut moonwalks.