SpaceX still needs NASA. NASA still does essential research that SpaceX needs but doesn't focus on. It's that SpaceX has the freedom that NASA doesn't have because it's a private company and not a government organization.
The elephant in this room is that Elon and SpaceX seem unique in their ability to actually deliver reliable launch capacity at scale. Their detractors may complain all day about gov't subsidies they've receive, and how they've cheated their way into space, and how evil they are - but back in hard reality, two dozen or more countries would happily pay 3X all the subsidies which Elon and SpaceX have received to a local space company, if the result was a launch provider with even a quarter of SpaceX's capabilities.
Has there been any serious public discussion of this issue? I'd assume it's been studied extensively in Beijing, talked a fair bit about in Washington, and reluctantly kicked around in the ESA's HQ.
SpaceX still needs NASA. NASA still does essential research that SpaceX needs but doesn't focus on. It's that SpaceX has the freedom that NASA doesn't have because it's a private company and not a government organization.
The elephant in this room is that Elon and SpaceX seem unique in their ability to actually deliver reliable launch capacity at scale. Their detractors may complain all day about gov't subsidies they've receive, and how they've cheated their way into space, and how evil they are - but back in hard reality, two dozen or more countries would happily pay 3X all the subsidies which Elon and SpaceX have received to a local space company, if the result was a launch provider with even a quarter of SpaceX's capabilities.
Has there been any serious public discussion of this issue? I'd assume it's been studied extensively in Beijing, talked a fair bit about in Washington, and reluctantly kicked around in the ESA's HQ.