Private space companies compete for supremacy and NASA contracts. Among them, only two seem close to that goal – SpaceX and Boeing. However, SpaceX will be the first to fly astronauts to space.
Boeing’s failures
This year a test was performed on the Starliner spacecraft whose aim was to send astronauts to the International Space Station.
A computer failure has destroyed the whole experiment, and the Starliner’s engines could not be fired at the right time for launching. Several months after the defeat, Boeing negotiated with NASA, aiming to proceed with the crews’ missions in space.
Therefore, NASA’s officials have decided that Boeing needs to redo its initial test to prove the reliability of their equipment. Last week, Boeing agreed to spend another $410 million to launch the second Orbital Flight Test, which is scheduled to take place in October or November this year.
SpaceX has huge advantages over Boeing
On a closer look, it seems like SpaceX is more likely to win the race against Boeing. NASA has asked the company to run a space mission without a crew in order to determine the proper workings of their equipment.
SpaceX has already managed to accomplish the first half of the regulations imposed by NASA, by sending on the 2nd of March 2019 a space capsule to ISS.
Unfortunately, the difficulties for SpaceX came on the 20th of April, when most of their vehicles were destroyed during an engine test. However, the company’s next launch into space is scheduled for next month, in spite of all the difficulties that they have encountered.
NASA, Boeing, and SpaceX
NASA has awarded two Commercial Crew contracts, one of $2.6 billion for SpaceX and the other one of $4.2 billion for Boeing.
In reality, both companies were paid differently to do the same job. Presumably, NASA has decided to pay Boeing more because of its highly appreciated reputation and its 138 rockets successfully set in the space in a row.
In short, SpaceX manages to win the contest on both rounds, crewed and uncrewed, so there is no argument in paying more for what SpaceX is already doing better than Boeing.
