Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

WSJ Reports Boeing To Beat SpaceX For Manned Taxi To ISS

Posted by timothy on from the competition-continues dept.

PvtVoid writes The Wall Street Journal reports (paywalled) that NASA is poised to award a key contract for manned transport to the International Space Station to Boeing over rival SpaceX: "Recent signals from the Obama administration, according to the officials, indicate that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's leadership has concluded on a preliminary basis that Boeing's proposed capsule offers the least risky option, as well as the one most likely to be ready to transport U.S. crews to the international space station within three years. The officials cautioned that a last-minute shift by NASA chief Charles Bolden, who must vet the decision, could change the result of the closely watched competition." Here is a non-paywalled link to an article at CNET.

12 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I guess Boeing is to big to fail...

    1. Re:well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Or just the better alternative. It is hard to seriously argue that Boeing is so much behind Elon Musk, that anything space related should be given to the latter.

    2. Re:well by N1AK · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The first one that delivers should win

      Which is fine as long as you're willing to pay the premium that all the companies put on their proposals to cover the risk of not winning. Sometimes leaving selecting a winner to the last minute can lead to higher costs than picking the most viable candidate at an earlier stage.

    3. Re:well by sycodon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I thought the Dragon vessel was well on its way to being man-rated, or, certified. I haven't heard/seen anything from Boeing at all.

      Perhaps Politics plays a bigger role than innovation and even costs?

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
  2. Translation... by tekrat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Boeing paid off the right people.

    SpaceX aside, Sierra Nevada's Dreamchaser was a better design all around. Essentially the X-20 DynaSoar, it's cheaper, re-usable, and fits the mission. The only advantages for the Capsule design of Boeing and SpaceX is that the mission can be expanded with the same hardware for Moon/Mars missions, and that said, I think SpaceX had the better design -- this contract going to Boeing is a mistake all-around.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Translation... by i+kan+reed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Please, while out-and-out corruption is a theoretically plausible explanation, the GAO does audit the finances of major (unelected) decision makers sometimes. If there's a legal alternative, it's more plausible, on the simple grounds that it's easier to fly under the radar.

      Think more along the lines of "specifically targeting various regulatory requirements NASA has for contractors" or "having lots of ex-Boeing employees working in low engineering review roles" if you're going the route of believing there's manipulation. It's cheaper for them and its legal.

  3. Imagine That... by superdan2k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Long-time government contractor with a history of blowing budgets and under-delivering gets new, lucrative NASA contract. Newsflash: SpaceX was never going to get that contract.

    --
    blog |
  4. Successful troll is successful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This WSJ article is full of speculation and opinion. Let's talk when there is something substantive. Also, there are rumors at KSC that some posters have arrived showing SpaceX/SNC as the winners. That information is about as reliable as the article, so basically we won't know anything until the 4:00 PM press conference.

  5. Obama administration by trybywrench · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Boeing has more union employees. Democrats are always in the pocket of BigLabor. Boeing is going to get favorable treatment from a administration led by a Democrat.

    --
    I came to the datacenter drunk with a fake ID, don't you want to be just like me?
    1. Re:Obama administration by Albanach · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Boeing makes things for fighting wars. Republicans are always starting conflicts. Boeing is going to get favorable treatment from a administration led by a Republican.

  6. clever move by NASA by wes33 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    this is smart, at least with respect to space-X. Musk will man rate
    his rocket with or without NASA money, so it's a win-win for
    NASA

  7. Not surprising by Jade_Wayfarer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, on one hand they have some small company praised by unorganized groups of geeks, and on the other hand - really big player with thousands of employees and way more people directly or indirectly depending on them - Military-Industrial Complex is not a child's toy. So if you are making a political decision (even not considering "campaign contributions"), it's a no-brainer - supporting Boeing gives you much more political bonus points than supporting some small hipster company. Questions of efficiency, final costs, terms and other "technicalities" are absolutely not important in this case. So, of course, it is sad, but highly logical.

    --
    Absence of proof != proof of absence.