Name: Is NASA Too Reliant on SpaceX?
Uploaded: 2023-08-18T09:02:00Z
Duration: 5 min 23 s
Description: The rise of SpaceX as the dominant force for U.S. rocket launches has meant that NASA’s role is now evolving. To find out what this means for the future of the space agency, WSJ’s George Downs sat down with NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. Photo Illustration: George Downs

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The rise of SpaceX as the dominant force for U.S. rocket launches has meant that NASA’s role is now evolving. To find out what this means for the future of the space agency, WSJ’s George Downs sat down with NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy.  Photo Illustration: George Downs

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Is NASA Too Reliant on SpaceX?

George: If you are an American headed to space in the 60s, there was only one agency to get you there

Announcer 1: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

George: NASA, but fast forward to today, and you'll see another logo on the majority of rocket launches.

Announcer 2: Go NASA, go SpaceX.

SpaceX handled 88% of US launches in the first six months of this year and now has a defacto monopoly on getting cargo and people into space. So what does that mean for the future of NASA and its $25 billion budget. Is it now too reliant on SpaceX, and will it continue to have rockets made for it?

So we have to consider in all of those decisions, what are core capabilities that NASA has to keep expertise in?

Here's how the rise of SpaceX is reshaping NASA. So to understand how NASA's strategy is evolving, you first need to understand how things worked in the past. Because back then, NASA had to forge its own path into space.

Back in the 60s, no one knew how to send people to space. No one had any idea how to safely get people off the face of the planet.

George: So NASA used private companies to build rockets that it would launch and operate, taking a very hands-on approach when it came to design and construction.

We would have a contractor team that we would put under contract to do design work. And then we had a whole internal parallel team. And I think it was really helpful because one team would see things that the other hadn't thought of.

George: But there's one problem with making rockets that way.

It's really expensive.

So as rocket technology became cheaper and more ubiquitous, NASA began adopting more of a hands-off approach, setting out requirements for its missions, but leaving companies to find their own way to fulfill them.

Now, we're in a different place where we're partnering. In the development phase, there's a lot of design and analysis work that goes into requirements development.

The net result is that instead of having its own rockets, NASA can now use a bunch of companies to get its projects into space. And it's done just that.

Announcer 2: The start of the Falcon 9 and crew Dragon.

Over the years, NASA has used a number of launches including United Launch Alliance, Northrop Grumman, and even a French rocket company called Arianespace. But those providers are all working on new rockets that aren't ready. Northrop Grumman announced that it was retiring its Antares 230 rocket in part because the company couldn't get hold of any more Russian engines for it.

We planned to fly the 230+ for more missions. The war in Ukraine put our supply chain at risk.

That's left SpaceX with a big advantage in its ability to provide flights right now.

SpaceX is one of our most critical partners. They do a lot of our launches, but everyone's reliant on them now because they're a leading provider of low cost access to space.

Part of the reason for those lower launch costs is the company's ability to quickly reuse its rockets, creating a turnaround pace that rivals can't match and leading SpaceX to emerge as a dominant launch provider for NASA, and the only US company currently able to carry crew to the International Space Station. Since 2020, SpaceX has launched NASA astronauts to orbit seven times. Is NASA very reliant on SpaceX for launch capability at the moment? Is it too reliant on SpaceX, and is it looking to diversify more?

I do think that it is important and we see that as a necessary thing to have investments in other companies.

But whoever NASA chooses to launch with, using private companies potentially exposes the agency to issues outside of its control. If these companies run into budgetary issues or delays in manufacturing, that can create headaches for NASA that the agency has to try and navigate.

If there are delays because requirements were not as mature as you thought, it can be difficult. We have developed some lessons learned about how to think about whether a company is ready.

And as the number of rocket launches in the US increases, if launch capacity doesn't increase at the same rate, NASA may eventually have to wait in line.

There is no question that the growing amount of launches is putting huge stress on the system and we're all pretty anxious about it. But of course, launch facilities don't just grow up overnight.

So for now at least, when it comes to its most high profile and important missions, NASA is still having spacecraft manufactured for it. For its forthcoming Artemis program where the agency intends to return to the moon and land humans on Mars, the agency is getting its space launch system, an Orion spacecraft built to order, like it used to back in the 60s.

We are a scientific and technical organization, and we are unwilling to let go of our expertise in that area. So we can't let somebody else take over the science and technology.

But now that there's such an established route into orbit and beyond, could Orion and the SLS be the very last spacecraft that NASA builds?

It's a great question. It's definitely been a subject of discussion inside the agency. I do think that we recognize the need to bring the cost down and we think commercial partners are better at that than the government is. We'd rather focus our energy on being at the cutting edge.

So while NASA will continue to explore space, don't expect it to have designed the rocket that gets it there.