SpaceX’s Reusable Starship Reportedly Has NASA Nervous As It’s Too Innovative

Last week, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave a presentation providing the first official updates for the ambitious Starship spacecraft in years. 

One tidbit of information he shared during this event reportedly has NASA, and other SpaceX rivals, unsettled: the fact that Starship is designed to be reusable, yet costs much less to launch than previous rockets. 

An example noted by Interesting Engineering is of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which will reportedly cost around US$2 billion for a single launch. And then we have Starship, which could cost just US$1 million. 

Because of its two incredibly strong points, it’s easy to see why and how Starship may overtake its predecessors, and even other upcoming spacecraft which may not have the same capabilities, highlighting a possible monopoly. 

Referring to NASA officials, a top Washington space lobbyist—under the condition of anonymity—purportedly told Politico that “they are s**tting the bed.” 

The publication describes them as “watching with a mix of awe and horror.” With the SLS running years behind schedule, and surpassing its budget by billions of dollars, it’s noted that some even feel that it’s “generations” behind SpaceX. 

However, it’s not to say that the companies won’t end up working together in the future to develop even more space tech beyond our wildest dreams. There are, after all, already some plans in place. 

[via Interesting Engineering and Politico, image via SpaceX]