The value of NASA contracts to SpaceX for launch

Again if you’ll compare the amounts Space[X] is receiving vs values to other launch providers for similar goals — they are always on the low end. For example, CRS 1 and 1E, Space is receiving $2.8 billion for 17 missions (~$165 million each) while Orbital is getting ~$3.8 billion for 15 missions (~$252 million each). For CRS2, SpaceX is receiving $900 million for six missions ($150 million each — a 9% reduction from CRS1), while Orbital ATK is receiving $1.4 billion for six missions ($233 million each — a 7.5% reduction from CRS1)…

 

That said, what I found that was really interesting while researching for this question is that SpaceX spent $300 million developing the Falcon 9, plus $90 million developing the Falcon 1. Under the assumption that all F1 development costs were required for the F9, that gives it a total development cost of $390 million (figures confirmed by NASA). NASA estimated that if they had initiated the development for the Falcon 9 through traditional means, the costs would have been somewhere between $1.7 billion to $4 billion dollars depending on the model used for the estimate.

That was an answer from Matthew Morris on Quora. These are not official figures, but there is an excellent table at the link comparing NASA contracts to SpaceX and other major suppliers. This does not include DOD’s funding, however.

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