SpaceX's Reputation and the US Government

SpaceX is the brain child of Elon Musk, better known as the chairman and CEO of Tesla, the electric automaker.  SpaceX has lofty goals, similar in ambitions to Tesla, to become a leader in the space industry.  Elon Musk has already experienced multiple failures, but was optimistic about the last launch, which placed a Tesla roadster into orbit in outer space.  SpaceX also had 18 perfect launches last year with its Falcon 9 rocket.  But the Falcon Heavy rocket poses some new concerns, as most space craft launches do. 
                  SpaceX has to walk a fine political line here.  It needs to prove to NASA and the government that its products can withstand testing and safely take Astronauts to the International Space Station.  The Falcon Heavy rocket can only launch from pad 39A, and if it gets damaged, the project will be even farther behind than it already is.
                  SpaceX’s competition includes Boeing, and the United Launch Alliance.  United Launch Alliance is stiff competition as it has the military’s contract.  The ULA has the trust of the US government, and SpaceX’s questionable reliability has those in Washington skeptical about the future of the company.  This directly relates to regulatory environments.  Since the ULA had a monopoly on government contracts, SpaceX has to be very tactful in its launches and its marketing efforts to the US government, if they want to win a contract and be the first US company to take astronauts to the space station since 2011.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/04/technology/future/spacex-falcon-heavy-failure/index.html

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 23, 2018 at 4:34 PM

    It is definitely easy to see that SpaceX has some seriously lofty goals for its future. But with their new deal with the city of Los Angeles to let the company develop its BFR at the former Southwest Marine Shipyard location. If they experience a high level of success and the local economy directly benefits from this, maybe we can see more local and state level government bodies attempting to attract SpaceX.

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