Space Force awards $13.7 billion in contracts to SpaceX and two others for national security missions

[Cal Jeffrey]

Not the point. Being cheaper doesn't excuse Musk and his obvious conflict of interest.

Did you like it when the White House turned into a Tesla car dealership? I still don't understand how anyone with some common sense could say: "yeah, that's normal".

Did you like it when the National Labor Relations Board was dismantled? It was Musk's pet peeves for years.

Did you like it when Musk clearly interfered with the FAA and its Starlink deal?

Did you like it when Musk fired the FDA staff investigating Neuralink?

Did you like it when Musk fired inspectors general investigating his companies?

and I can go on and on...

Wait, wait, wait. Don't try pulling me into your emotional, political argument. All I was doing was pointing out that peanut butter is cheaper than Swiss cheese. I couldn't care less about airing my political views. SpaceX has taken 40% of the NSSL awards since before Trump took over. A big part of that is SpaceX can do it for less. There's nothing political about that.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

Some of us can separate the "larger issues" with the current article's point... I'm no Trump or Musk supporter - I believe they're both terrible people who are ruining the US... but...

THIS article, about awarding Space contracts, really has little to do with that. NOT awarding any of the launches to SpaceX would be far more egregious than doing so. I know people love the Left/Right debates that have polarized your country but... maybe we can leave those for political websites/articles and stick to the relevant facts here?

Well said.

 

[Puiu]

Wait, wait, wait. Don't try pulling me into your emotional, political argument. All I was doing was pointing out that peanut butter is cheaper than Swiss cheese. I couldn't care less about airing my political views. SpaceX has taken 40% of the NSSL awards since before Trump took over. A big part of that is SpaceX can do it for less. There's nothing political about that.

You defending Elon and the contract is undeniably a political statement. Like Squid Surprise said, let's stick to the relevant facts, and I did just that.

What part of what I said is not fact?

You can here telling us that: "but SpaceX is cheaper!" - what exactly are we to understand from this? that we should ignore everything? context be damned?

are laws in the US suddenly optional now? and we can't talk about it?

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

What part of what I said is not fact?

How about this:

[H]ow do you know that SpaceX did not receive extra missions because Musk asked for it? Even 1 extra mission would be illegal. Hell, even an extra 100$ would be illegal.

The moment you start thinking that this situation is normal is the moment you become a lost cause with the US officially becoming a fascist country.

That's a hypothetical lol.

Also, the White House has already said that Elon Musk has received briefings on ethics limits including those related to conflicts of interest and would abide by all applicable federal laws. Many government employees have conflicts of interests, they're mandated to disclose them, and they generally avoid them. As a result, Elon Musk has already said he's not involved with in pursuing SpaceX contracts and committed to recusing himself from potential conflicts.

Conflicts of interests are not being ignored, unlike you claim.

 

[Underdog]

You deem national security a waste?

Why do we need national security? The Russians are our new friends.

 

[Puiu]

How about this:

That's a hypothetical lol.

Also, the White House has already said that Elon Musk has received briefings on ethics limits including those related to conflicts of interest and would abide by all applicable federal laws. Many government employees have conflicts of interests, they're mandated to disclose them, and they generally avoid them. As a result, Elon Musk has already said he's not involved with in pursuing SpaceX contracts and committed to recusing himself from potential conflicts.

Conflicts of interests are not being ignored, unlike you claim.

"hypothetical" - that's called a conflict of interests. it always starts as hypothetical because it IS POSIBLE. how is that hard to understand what a conflict of interest is?

"Conflicts of interests are not being ignored, unlike you claim." - yes they are and I've given many examples.

"But Musk said he didn't do it! It must be the truth!" - in the context of the many other times he did it, sorry but words mean absolutely nothing. it's as if you don't want to acknowledge anything that's happened so far.

"they're mandated to disclose them, and they generally avoid them" - yeah, that's what recusal is for, as the law describes it. Something that Musk didn't do on all other occasions and in fact he bragged about it.

Do you think he tweeted this just because?


They literally fired the CFPB director Rohit Chopra and do you know who is in charge of it now? One of the authors of Project 2025 Russell Vought who was calling for the CFPB to be abolished.

DUN DUN DUN! Conspiracy theory turned reality right in front of your nose.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Do you think he tweeted this just because?
View attachment 90355

They literally fired the CFPB director Rohit Chopra and do you know who is in charge of it now? One of the authors of Project 2025 Russell Vought who was calling for the CFPB to be abolished.

DUN DUN DUN! Conspiracy theory turned reality right in front of your nose.

I don't know what that has to do with SpaceX at all lol. It's not even what we're talking about. You also seem to have ignored my entire post. You're tying together unrelated things, and they have nothing to do with SpaceX (the business venture that Elon Musk has a COI with).

 

[wiyosaya]

Wait, wait, wait. Don't try pulling me into your emotional, political argument. All I was doing was pointing out that peanut butter is cheaper than Swiss cheese. I couldn't care less about airing my political views. SpaceX has taken 40% of the NSSL awards since before Trump took over. A big part of that is SpaceX can do it for less. There's nothing political about that.

SpaceX, among others, also has royalty free access to all of NASA's IP.

 

[amghwk]

Well, more than half of the americans voted for trump. I guess they asked for it.

I wouldn't be surprised if trump is the cause of WWIII.

 

[Gars]

There we are! Was getting worried…
Have you done any research as to weather SpaceX might actually have DESERVED the contract? Or are you just a Trump/Musk hater?

every1 must understand:
1. Having expensive space program, need to be played from some1.
2. Having the same military production complex is the same
3. Relation to the Russians is not coincident
take your time and analize lol

 

[BogdanR]

You forgot to mention that SpaceX charges the government about 30% less than ULA and Blue Origin. Well, and the fact that were it not for private space companies, NASA would be shut down.

Cold War was won so bean-counters had been put in charge early in the 00's and NASA was forced to downsize and outsource to private companies. A similar fate befell Navy's shipyards and defence contractors who, due to budget cuts, were forced to merge and consolidate.

It was a drive to downsize/ privatize/ outsource everything. I remember it well.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

The ones who need to grow up are those who are still defending Elon and Musk after all that they've done so far. You talk about "ignorance", but willfully closing your eyes is just criminal.

We don't need the media to tell us anything, all you need to do is listen and look at what Trump and Elon are saying and doing.

It's not our faulty you lack the ability to separate the two; the work Elon is doing with DOGE and SpaceX being part of the Space Force program way before DOGE was even a twinkle in anyone's eye. This relationship between SpaceX/Elon and working with the government started way before Trump took office his first term.

* Did you know that the government has been working with SpaceX well over a decade ago? The first military contract with SpaceX happened in 2012.
* Did you know the first government contract SpaceX had was for NASA back in 2008? A $1.6 billion contract.
* Did you know that in 2021 SpaceX entered into $2 billion contract with the government?
* Maybe you knew that NASA has been contracting out to SpaceX since 2006?
* Did you know that NASA stopped going into space back in 2010/2011 after the completion of the ISS? it was shut down by George W Bush who put things into motion back in 2004; to retire the shuttles after 2010 (after ISS completion). NASA has had to contract out to other space bound companies since then.

You can certainly try to argue that it's a conflict of interest, but with the history that SpaceX has from working with NASA and the Government all these years, there is clearly a solid work history. Not to include them in the bidding opportunity just because Elon is holding a position that works in conjunction with the government would be extremely foolish and be a very bad business decision towards any future opportunities for both SpaceX (business-wise) and the government getting payloads into orbit in a timely fashion.

You can keep trying to argue until you're blue in the face, but the fact of the matter is, Elon working in DOGE is irrelevant unless you can prove otherwise. Conjecture and hearsay is worthless.

I think it's humorous that the article made no political mentions, yet you have folks here eager to jump into the fray and try to make it political.

 

[Puiu]

It's not our faulty you lack the ability to separate the two; the work Elon is doing with DOGE and SpaceX being part of the Space Force program way before DOGE was even a twinkle in anyone's eye. This relationship between SpaceX/Elon and working with the government started way before Trump took office his first term.

* Did you know that the government has been working with SpaceX well over a decade ago? The first military contract with SpaceX happened in 2012.
* Did you know the first government contract SpaceX had was for NASA back in 2008? A $1.6 billion contract.
* Did you know that in 2021 SpaceX entered into $2 billion contract with the government?
* Maybe you knew that NASA has been contracting out to SpaceX since 2006?
* Did you know that NASA stopped going into space back in 2010/2011 after the completion of the ISS? it was shut down by George W Bush who put things into motion back in 2004; to retire the shuttles after 2010 (after ISS completion). NASA has had to contract out to other space bound companies since then.

You can certainly try to argue that it's a conflict of interest, but with the history that SpaceX has from working with NASA and the Government all these years, there is clearly a solid work history. Not to include them in the bidding opportunity just because Elon is holding a position that works in conjunction with the government would be extremely foolish and be a very bad business decision towards any future opportunities for both SpaceX (business-wise) and the government getting payloads into orbit in a timely fashion.

You can keep trying to argue until you're blue in the face, but the fact of the matter is, Elon working in DOGE is irrelevant unless you can prove otherwise. Conjecture and hearsay is worthless.

I think it's humorous that the article made no political mentions, yet you have folks here eager to jump into the fray and try to make it political.

Separating the two is impossible in the current political context. Al I see is wishful thinking and weak excuses from people who are pretending that everything is fine now in the US.

"Elon working in DOGE is irrelevant unless you can prove otherwise" - I already proved that it is not irrelevant at all. But hey, I guess there are too many comments and you missed several of mine. There's no "hearsay", just facts. Just things Elon has done since he started working with DOGE. It's something documented and known worldwide.

"You can certainly try to argue that it's a conflict of interest" - I'm not arguing, it's by definition a conflict of interest. Elon didn't recuse himself and he still controls where the money is allocated as per DOGE's "mission". And he proved time and time again that he doesn't care about it and that he will intervene for his personal benefit.

Saying that he didn't do anything this time is just disingenuous at best.

"He may have done it 9 times in the past, but trust me bro, this time Elon is innocent!"

 

[Puiu]

I don't know what that has to do with SpaceX at all lol. It's not even what we're talking about. You also seem to have ignored my entire post. You're tying together unrelated things, and they have nothing to do with SpaceX (the business venture that Elon Musk has a COI with).

It's about proving to naysayers that Elon is not afraid of doing whatever he wants for his personal gains. And I've proved it. Everybody else went: "Not this time, not with SpaceX! Trust me bro!"

How is not related to SpaceX when the same principles apply? Is it a conflict of interest or not? Obviously YES. He controls the money and the contracts right now together with trump.

And it was something you knew would be an issue since day one. And Elon spared no time to give himself "gifts" using his new power.

 

[trieste1s]

Please don't. You are not "stuck", the US voted for laws to become optional and allowed Trump to create this mess.

As an outsider reading news about the USA, seems like Biden (and his backers) was the one messing things up for 2 cycles.

"Given that Biden nearly allowed illegals to vote in US elections" - complete BS.

Biden unveils plan allowing hundreds of thousands to gain US citizenship

Advocates say US president’s effort to regularise some undocumented immigrants will help keep families together.

www.aljazeera.com

"Undocumented immigrants" = illegals

AJ is anti Israel, anti Trump.

You have Trump... the guy who invited literal terrorists in the US and freed thousands, making a complete mockery of the US military... and then you point fingers at Biden?

Literal terrorists? Who?
I don't think it was Trump who wanted pro-Hamas, pro-Ayatollah agents and agitators in the country.

Calling the illegal activities of DOGE "anti-cancer" shows just how completely insane the US is right now.

Well we know chemotherapy causes the body to suffer greatly at first.

Making emotional arguments and gaslights helps nobody on a tech forum discussion. Try to avoid that. I don't side with any Great Power nation, because they do what they gotta do. But I will always keep in mind who supported the murderers and rapists of Oct 7, 2023, and who are fighting against them.

 

[Puiu]

As an outsider reading news about the USA, seems like Biden (and his backers) was the one messing things up for 2 cycles.

Biden unveils plan allowing hundreds of thousands to gain US citizenship

Advocates say US president’s effort to regularise some undocumented immigrants will help keep families together.

www.aljazeera.com

"Undocumented immigrants" = illegals

AJ is anti Israel, anti Trump.

Literal terrorists? Who?
I don't think it was Trump who wanted pro-Hamas, pro-Ayatollah agents and agitators in the country.

Well we know chemotherapy causes the body to suffer greatly at first.

Making emotional arguments and gaslights helps nobody on a tech forum discussion. Try to avoid that. I don't side with any Great Power nation, because they do what they gotta do. But I will always keep in mind who supported the murderers and rapists of Oct 7, 2023, and who are fighting against them.

Oh god... this is what happens when people just read headlines. This is why people make fun of Trump supporters.

Quotes from the article:
"will allow some undocumented spouses of US citizens to apply for permanent residence — and eventually citizenship — without having to leave the country"
...
"Under the current process, undocumented spouses of citizens must go back to their home country, for example to Mexico, to fill out paperwork to obtain long-term legal status"
...
"To qualify for the spousal programme, an applicant must have lived in the US for 10 years as of Monday and be married to a US citizen.
If their application is approved, the applicant would have three years to apply for a green card and receive a temporary work permit. In the meantime, they would be shielded from deportation."

These kind of childish scare tactics of "illegal immigrants voting" are just baffling to me. it literally took me 1 minute to dismantle them. Thank you for reinforcing my obviously now skewed views of trump supporters.

"who are fighting against them" - obviously not trump. he's simply fighting against common sense and for laws to become optional for rich people.

"Literal terrorists? Who?" - it seems to you the taliban are just a bunch of nice people. trump must have just released 5000 misunderstood school teachers. /s

 

[trieste1s]

Oh god... this is what happens when people just read headlines. This is why people make fun of Trump supporters.

Quotes from the article:
"will allow some undocumented spouses of US citizens to apply for permanent residence — and eventually citizenship — without having to leave the country"
...
"Under the current process, undocumented spouses of citizens must go back to their home country, for example to Mexico, to fill out paperwork to obtain long-term legal status"
...
"To qualify for the spousal programme, an applicant must have lived in the US for 10 years as of Monday and be married to a US citizen.
If their application is approved, the applicant would have three years to apply for a green card and receive a temporary work permit. In the meantime, they would be shielded from deportation."

These kind of childish scare tactics of "illegal immigrants voting" are just baffling to me. it literally took me 1 minute to dismantle them. Thank you for reinforcing my obviously now skewed views of trump supporters.

"who are fighting against them" - obviously not trump. he's simply fighting against common sense and for laws to become optional for rich people.

"Literal terrorists? Who?" - it seems to you the taliban are just a bunch of nice people. trump must have just released 5000 misunderstood school teachers. /s

What's "undocumented"?
Is it "Oh he married and forgot to tell us?"

So emotional, so cute! Talks a good game about proper sources but providing none in its replies. Dodging simple questions by playing mockery.

 

[Puiu]

What's "undocumented"?
Is it "Oh he married and forgot to tell us?"

So emotional, so cute! Talks a good game about proper sources but providing none in its replies. Dodging simple questions by playing mockery.

I guess facts are too much for you. I didn't dodge anything, I just simply and easily destroyed your argument using your own linked article against you. Is your own link not a "proper source" now?

FYI you had no questions. And being sarcastic is normal when seeing what you wrote to me