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NASA Commercial Crew Announcement 2014-9-16

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[Moderator note: this thread was pulled out of the general SpaceX thread]

Anyone know where Elon is today? Any chance he's in Florida?

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/sept...bout-astronaut-transport-to-the/#.VBg8bP2mrqA

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NASA making "major announcement" about commercial manned missions today.
 
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Boeing and SpaceX will do 2 and up to 6 launches to the spacestation. And of course I think whichever one actually goes all the way will get to do far more launches.

I like that NASA is doing two contracts because I think it will be worth it in the end to upfront cost of paying for 2 companies. I think it will ensure that both companies really try to push their limits and make a good product. Of course we all know which one should win out in the end. But I am pleased with where this is going.

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Boeing: 4.2BN and SpaceX: 2.6BN

NASA awarded the contracts based on the proposals. Both companies have the same requirements and milestones. This mandates at least one live crew test flight and up to 6 flights.

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Sounds like they want to have more destinations other than the ISS, there will be other laboratories and such with some of them not even being gov owned. They feel they need a robust LEO environment of destinations in order to facilitate them going to other destinations like Mars.
 
Boeing: 4.2BN and SpaceX: 2.6BN

NASA awarded the contracts based on the proposals. Both companies have the same requirements and milestones. This mandates at least one live crew test flight and up to 6 flights.

So Boeing needs $4.2 billion to do the same thing that SpaceX needs $2.6 billion. At least, at this juncture. We'll see how much it ends up being in a few years.
 
While I am a big SpaceX supporter and believer, I am curious about working conditions at the company. From what I've read/heard from current and former employees, if you work at SpaceX that is all that you do, you have no life, no free time. Lots of evenings, lots of weekends, and the pay isn't stupendous. SpaceX's own job listings mention the requirement of long hours, nights, and weekends ("you need to be able to work all the time", one job says).

I wonder if this is helping SpaceX keep costs down. But, at what cost, as it were...
 
So Boeing needs $4.2 billion to do the same thing that SpaceX needs $2.6 billion. At least, at this juncture. We'll see how much it ends up being in a few years.

Yeah, I would love to submit a FOIA request for the PWS and other documents relating to this in order to identify how the contract award was written to see how bound to these dollar figures they are. Because from the way they were talking this budget is supposed to be all inclusive, even providing all 6 possible launches and something else I didn't quite catch regarding some kind of science research funding thing.

Given NASA's limited budget, maybe we are lucky and it was written as a Fixed Firm Price or some such :D

But yes, the reporters seemed very skeptical at the price difference and that was certainly the focus of some of the questions. Ensuring that SpaceX would be able to do the same thing with less money. Which everyone seemed to be baffled by.

Of course none of us here are at all shocked that they could do the same thing with about 50% of the budget.

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While I am a big SpaceX supporter and believer, I am curious about working conditions at the company. From what I've read/heard from current and former employees, if you work at SpaceX that is all that you do, you have no life, no free time. Lots of evenings, lots of weekends, and the pay isn't stupendous. SpaceX's own job listings mention the requirement of long hours, nights, and weekends ("you need to be able to work all the time", one job says).

I wonder if this is helping SpaceX keep costs down. But, at what cost, as it were...

I don't think this is special. I have talked with someone who works with Boeing and she was under a lot the same stuff, working all the time, getting sent to fly anywhere at the drop of a hat... always very busy. So much so she wanted to just get out of the industry and switch career fields because it was just so stressful.
 
I know an ex-SpaceX manager, and that was exactly how he described it.

While I am a big SpaceX supporter and believer, I am curious about working conditions at the company. From what I've read/heard from current and former employees, if you work at SpaceX that is all that you do, you have no life, no free time. Lots of evenings, lots of weekends, and the pay isn't stupendous. SpaceX's own job listings mention the requirement of long hours, nights, and weekends ("you need to be able to work all the time", one job says).

I wonder if this is helping SpaceX keep costs down. But, at what cost, as it were...
 
I can understand wanting to have two suppliers in case one flakes out. But it would be interesting to find out if NASA asked Boeing to sharpen their pencils after seeing the SpaceX bid. I would also be interested in knowing how many more years NASA is going to overpay for missions.
 
While I am a big SpaceX supporter and believer, I am curious about working conditions at the company. From what I've read/heard from current and former employees, if you work at SpaceX that is all that you do, you have no life, no free time. Lots of evenings, lots of weekends, and the pay isn't stupendous. SpaceX's own job listings mention the requirement of long hours, nights, and weekends ("you need to be able to work all the time", one job says).

I wonder if this is helping SpaceX keep costs down. But, at what cost, as it were...

Sounds like every large company I've ever worked for, with the exception that SpaceX has an exciting goal.