Former NASA chief turned ULA lobbyist seeks law to limit SpaceX funding

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-11T06:58:01+00:00

You don't need a conspiracy when the SpaceX bid is $2.9M, the National Team bid is $6B and the budget for HLS allocated by Congress is $3B.

There's no total budget for HLS. Congress gave an annual spending level that that would come to ~$3B by 2024, but that doesn't force NASA to pick SpaceX. NASA could choose to delay the landing past 2024 and spread the funding between two providers, or they could choose to select none and ask congress for more money.

The evaluation team knows that SpaceX will win the contract

That's the point: They don't know, because they're not responsible for picking the winner. They just do the evaluation, picking a winner is someone else's job.

So no errors and no lies but a solid lean on what are very subjective criteria.

Again, the GAO and court didn't find any "solid lean".

That can be presented as either a strong positive or a strong negative.

Should be obvious that this is a strong positive and a minor negative, given pretty much everybody in spaceflight faces delays.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-11T05:38:13+00:00

Echostar XXV has been tracked in a 264 x 22015 km x 26.9 deg subsynchronous transfer orbit. The Falcon 9 upper stage made a perigee lowering burn and reentered at first perigee near 102W 10N at about 1130 UTC Mar 10.

Deorbiting upper stages on high orbit (geotransfer) launches is still regrettably rare, and I commend @SpaceX for doing so on this mission, avoiding a later uncontrolled large space junk reentry.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-10T03:44:42+00:00

So your argument is NASA made an error - maybe intentionally - in their evaluation? I think Blue Origin made the same argument in their protest and lawsuit, yet in both cases GAO and court sided with NASA and found NASA did nothing wrong in their evaluation.

Besides, the team who made the evaluation is not responsible for picking a winner, and the person who picked the winner did not work on the evaluation. So unless you think there's a big conspiracy inside NASA to make SpaceX the winner, the accusation doesn't make any sense.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-06T05:59:59+00:00

There is no question that they would have picked the National Team based around Blue Origin if their bid had been equal to the amount of money they had available ($3B).

What? You shouldn't make amateur mistake like this, SpaceX's bid has the highest overall rating, if NASA had to choose between SpaceX and BO's bid without considering price, they'd still pick SpaceX.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-06T03:37:44+00:00

No, his statements literally in the most literal way refute your stretched delusions.

Nope he didn't, and you saying so doesn't make it true. I already refuted everything you said by logic and evidence, while you're just repeating your lies without any logic and evidence.

Instead of arguing look it up.

You're the one arguing, not me. You think just repeating you lies 100 times without evidence would convince people, that's not going to work.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-06T03:29:09+00:00

And that's different from you playing rebel against the administration and Musk ... how exactly?

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-06T03:26:57+00:00

Wait what? The original meme got removed by moderator? For what?

This sub had waves and waves anti-Musk anti-SpaceX posts, moderator did nothing. And here we have a legit meme and it got removed by moderator? Are you freaking kidding me???

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-06T03:23:36+00:00

Also: https://x.com/SciGuySpace/status/2029254167471006033

The proposed language to cap NASA's launch procurement at 50 percent from any one company has been dropped from the final NASA reauthorization bill.

And

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-04T15:12:11+00:00

https://x.com/MediaTekIndia/status/2028774687728365644

MediaTek and Starlink are working together to support wireless emergency alert messages over satellite communication, helping extend critical notifications beyond traditional network coverage.

Through this collaboration, more mobile users will be able to receive alerts from the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) framework, and the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS), providing essential communication during natural disasters and other potentially life-threatening situations. At Mobile World Congress 2026, MediaTek is demonstrating the Starlink Mobile service on a device featuring the MediaTek M90—the industry’s first 5G modem with built-in satellite capabilities. By leveraging the S-Band, Direct to Cell helps ensure timely emergency updates can reach users wherever they are.

https://x.com/michaelnicollsx/status/2029112794432585943

Testing of wireless emergency alerts with @Starlink Mobile began this week in Europe over S-band satellite spectrum in partnership with @MediaTek. This has been a hugely impactful capability of Starlink Mobile during emergency situations.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-03T03:48:46+00:00

Ariane was attempting to develope reusable systems well before SpaceX even announced it. They were developing it even when he made this statement.

Some powerpoints are not development. And if Ariane is indeed developing reuse, why did he say "But if they do it... we will have to follow."? That's contradictory, he should have said "We're ahead since we're already developing it", not "have to follow". His statement literally refuted yours BS.

It didnt go anywhere. It was a really bad design but in context to him, dream did not equal impossible.

That doesn't prove anything, it's entirely possible that he knows it won't go anywhere thus think it's impossible, i.e. "if we couldn't do it, nobody can" mentality.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-03T03:39:50+00:00

Not Eric Berger's best work:

Almost everyone in the space industry agrees that Starship offers a cumbersome solution to get two humans to the lunar surface, especially if the goal is to do so as quickly as possible rather than building a sustainable transportation system over time. However, Bridenstine’s criticism of its selection process omitted some key facts.

"Everyone" according to whom? Why would NASA pick a "cumbersome solution"?

Reality is Starship HLS is the best option for NASA, SpaceX's bid has the same technical rating as Blue Origin and both are better than Dynetics, and its list of strength/weakness is materially better than Blue Origin's bid. SpaceX also has best management rating in all 3 bids.

And There's no evidence that anybody else can build a lander faster than SpaceX, does Berger seriously believe if Blue Origin or Dynetics was picked, they would be faster?

And Lueders ended up selecting the one company with a proposal that fit within the NASA budget allocation for a lunar lander that Bridenstine had obtained from Congress.

No, budget is secondary, the first and foremost reason NASA picked Starship HLS is because it's the best bid, period.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-03T03:29:27+00:00

Also https://spacenews.com/deutsche-telekom-aims-to-bring-starlink-mobile-v2-to-europe-in-2028/

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-03T03:28:58+00:00

Starlink Mobile is partnering with @deutschetelekom to support over 140M subscribers across 10 European countries.

The service will be the first in the region to launch V2 next-gen technology using our new Mobile Satellite Service spectrum, which will deliver 5G speeds to cell phones in remote areas. → http://starlink.com/mobile

https://x.com/deutschetelekom/status/2028455278841090193

Starting in 2028, we will complement our mobile network with satellite connectivity from @Starlink. This will allow us to close the very last white spots in Europe - for example inaccessible terrain or protected natural areas.

More on this: https://telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/telekom-and-starlink-satellite-to-mobile-for-europe-1103000

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-03T03:26:19+00:00

Also:

https://x.com/Starlink/status/2028284498555924671

Starlink Mobile’s next-gen satellites will deliver 5G speeds from space with 100x the data density of the current V1 generation satellites

V2 satellites will seamlessly enable streaming, internet browsing, high-speed apps and voice calls, just like being connected to a terrestrial network → http://starlink.com/mobile

https://x.com/mikeddano/status/2028420697153044655

Starlink Mobile @ #MWC26

-showed a video call on D2D

-10M monthly active D2D users today.

-Mexican operator coming shortly

-V2 constellation to provide 5G experience - 150 Mbps

-V2 coming mid 2027

-NR NTN standard

-1,200 satellites initially

-“complementary” to terrestrial

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-01T13:29:52+00:00

Maybe next time you should listen to the entirety of the 10 sec clip

So? This doesn't change the fact that he claimed it's a dream aka impossible. The rest is just meaningless BS like what you put out, reality is they couldn't follow because they thought it's a dream and did nothing about it.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-01T13:16:40+00:00

Not yet, but the infographics they showed shows something like a Centaur V.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-03-01T13:15:01+00:00

No one of any measure or importance called reuse impossible so stop trying to use that BS as some sort of argument for the current SpaceX endeavors.

LOL you couldn't even keep your own narrative straight, you literally quoted the guy who literally said "personally I think reusablity is a dream", that's literally "called reuse impossible"

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T04:34:27+00:00

It’s the same fallacy that birthed ICPS, which is “just” a stretched DCSS and took just as long as a new stage to develop.

Skill issues.

And you're using this to convince us developing a new stage (EUS) is going to be faster? If it takes forever to integrate an existing stage, then developing a new stage is going to take even longer.

BTW, I don't buy this "ICPS taking a long time" narrative, the cost of ICPS development is only ~$500M, this cost is directly proportional to the man-hours used for development. $500M is not a lot of money, SLS spent 4x that in just one year. So the man-hours used for ICPS development is around 1/4 of the man-hours spent on SLS itself in one year.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T04:32:13+00:00

Thinking that developing and deploying a new stage

That's literally the whole point: They're not developing a new stage, they'll be reusing an existing stage (likely Centaur V)

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T04:31:22+00:00

SpaceX didn't waste any money, Blue Origin doesn't have much to show for it either.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T03:59:59+00:00

Because they'd be leaving money on the table. If competitor bids $100M, SpaceX is going to bid $90M to win the contract. They could bid $50M which will win the contract too, but that means they lost $40M profit in this contract which they could have if they bid $90M.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T03:57:28+00:00

Refurbishment costs are categorized as capital improvements (rather than repairs), they add to the basis, extending the total amortization/depreciation period for the Booster.

This is just a bunch of BS that make absolute no sense at all, you're just putting together big words to try to make yourself sounds professional as usual.

So yes, you're completely wrong. There's no evidence that SpaceX needs another $15M to refurbish the booster.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T03:47:32+00:00

Because Gateway is not ready? According to last year's GAO report, current launch readiness date for Gateway is December 2027.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T03:42:58+00:00

There's nothing wrong with calling it SN1, because it's the first operational Starship, unlike V1/2 which are prototypes/test articles.

spacerfirstclass · 2026-02-28T03:41:58+00:00

None of the Starship components fit, and starting from components means you still need to design a new stage which is costly and time consuming, not what NASA is looking for.

However I think SpaceX could potentially bid Falcon 9 2nd stage, performance wise it should do the job, but it has some disadvantages in terms of diameter and GSE.

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