In 2006, with NASA announcing the closure of its Space Shuttle program, SpaceX won a contract to design and demonstrate a resupply system for the International Space Station. | Jae C. Hong/AP Photo.

That includes the additional costs of conducting interviews with employees ranging from senior managers to engineers. Musk also has the grander aim of launching a manned mission to Mars and, ultimately, colonising the red planet. You may recognise its founder, Elon Musk, as the eccentric entrepreneur behind PayPal and Tesla. "SpaceX is an aerospace company with a strong mission to make humans interplanetary. SpaceX has accepted funding from various sources. Unlike other sites, we thoroughly review everything we recommend, using industry standard tests to evaluate products. “The idea of NASA ever giving SpaceX preferential treatment over Boeing is simply giggle-inducing to industry insiders,” said Greg Autry, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California who served on the Trump administration's NASA transition team.
Tell us what you think – email the Editor, Elon Musk’s 5 craziest tech ideas for the future, What is SpaceX? In fact, when the review was ordered, companies were not sure what exactly it entailed because it had not been done before at NASA, according to one person in the space industry. We may get a commission if you buy via our price links. The episode raises a number of questions, said Pete Garrettson, a recently retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and space strategist. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Everything you need to know. However, in negotiating with Russian rocket companies, he found that the prices quoted for propelling this life pod to Mars were impractical. Back in June 2013, Musk claimed that he would hold off from an IPO until SpaceX’s Mars colony flights were well under way. NASA, for its part, said it is “standard practice” for a company to receive additional money for work not included in the original contract, but did not directly respond to questions about why it didn’t offer the additional funds to Boeing. SpaceX said that it is using the money to cover the cost of the review, which will include interviews with staff at all levels across the company and was not part of the original contract for the Crew Dragon capsule back in 2014. . This wasn’t the first launch and landing of a reusable unmanned rockets – that honour goes to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin – but it did fly further into space, and it was an actual practical space mission rather than a simple test flight. A free inside look at company reviews and salaries posted anonymously by employees. The challenge was in making the production method as efficient as possible.

No commercial company had done this before. NASA ordered the review of the safety measures at SpaceX and Boeing in November after Musk smoked marijuana and sipped whiskey on Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Learn More. “What we have here is an important cultural divide between what is considered appropriate behavior in the old guard in the space community and what is considered OK among Silicon Valley tech people and a growing sector of Americans,” Garrettson said. We’ll always tell you what we find. Paying a contractor extra to do such a review does not appear to have any precedent, according to several space industry veterans. But NASA has not ordered such a review previouskly. It’s an important and fascinating story, as SpaceX could well spearhead the next important phase in mankind’s journey to the stars. We need to show the American public that when we put an astronaut on a rocket, they’ll be safe," Bridenstine added. SpaceX is an American private aerospace company founded in 2002. Even discussing $5 million in this context is silly.”. In 2012, SpaceX used the Dragon capsule to dock with the International Space Station on its first resupply mission. Thus SpaceX was formed, with Musk enlisting the help of a handful of established space engineers to build affordable rockets for his mission to Mars. "As an agency we’re not just leading ourselves but our contractors, as well. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. “SpaceX worked closely with NASA to account for additional work beyond the scope of the contract,” said James Gleeson, a SpaceX spokesman. SpaceX is an American private aerospace company founded in 2002. Trusted Reviews may earn an affiliate commission when you purchase through links on our site. The culture at SpaceX is progressive, very fast-paced with a predominately younger workforce. Boeing confirmed that it did not receive any extra money for its review, which officials say also includes reviewing documents and interviewing employees to ensure it is also maintaining a drug-free workplace under its Starliner contract. Moving forward to February of this year, SpaceX launched the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR for short), a deep space weather satellite that marked the company’s first operation outside of Earth’s orbit. “I just don’t want [SpaceX] to be controlled by some private equity firm that would milk it for near-term revenue,” he told Aeon. While marijuana is legal in multiple states – including California, where Musk’s stunt took place – it remains illegal under federal law. You may recognise its founder, Elon Musk, as the eccentric entrepreneur behind PayPal and Tesla. By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. POLITICO’s weekly must-read briefing on the second space age. For example, in September of this year SpaceX announced that it had signed a contract to launch a communications satellite for HISPASAT and a Saudi Arabian Arabsat 6A communications satellite using its Falcon rockets. Average of All Companies in this Industry (19,970), Product Manager Intern - Applications Development.
https://www.spacex.com. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine explained at the time that "if I see something that’s inappropriate, the key concern to me is what is the culture that led to that inappropriateness and is NASA involved in that. The space agency agreed to pay SpaceX $5 million in May to cover the cost of the review, which includes educating its employees and ensuring they are following strict guidelines for federal contractors barring illegal drug use. You can unsubscribe from job alert emails any time. Today, SpaceX has more than 4,000 employees spread across its Florida headquarters, launch facilities, rocket-development facility, and several offices. “If I was at NASA," Garrettson added, "I’d say, ‘How much was your contract [for the Commercial Crew Program] padded compared to SpaceX?’”. The Falcon 9 delivered 11 satellites into Earth orbit before its successful re-entry. The company also accepts private contracts for its spaceflight services. SpaceX’s most recent achievement was the recent landing of the Falcon 9 rocket (pictured above) following two failures earlier in 2015.

And illegal drug use is also considered a violation of the terms of a government security clearance. But if the aerospace giant wanted NASA to cover the costs of the review, he added, it may have faced uncomfortable questions about why its costs for the Commercial Crew Program are so much higher than SpaceX’s. Both programs are behind schedule. “NASA is moving forward with fulfilling the objectives of their safety assessment under our current contract, and we are prepared to help our customer meet those goals,” a Boeing spokesperson said. “As a taxpayer why would I pay when I don’t have to?” he asked. Musk soon realised that the relatively low cost of materials meant that it would be cheaper to form a company to build the rockets himself. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “At every step of the way Boeing got more [money] in the [Commercial Crew development] program. SpaceX is building the Crew Dragon capsule and Boeing is manufacturing the Starliner. Yet the implication that SpaceX is getting special treatment struck others as ironic given that Boeing has been paid nearly $1.7 billion more on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program than SpaceX -- $4.82 billion compared with $3.14 billion. 1,307 SpaceX reviews. But while Boeing was also directed to undertake the same review of workplace safety and culture after Musk's marijuana smoking, it didn’t get any extra funds to cover the cost.

SpaceX’s mission is to push past mankind’s current difficulties with space travel by lowering the costs and commercialising the process. The decision, which has not previously been reported, struck some space industry insiders as a highly unusual expenditure given that Musk, who holds a security clearance, prompted the concerns about whether SpaceX is following the rules. It’s not clear how much the review will cost Boeing.