Posted inOpinion

Letter: Old Model Doesn’t Apply To SpaceX’s Expenditures

I am writing to correct the record on the cost of development of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft. In a letter printed on Jan. 24 [โ€œUnderstating the Cost of SpaceXโ€™s Success,โ€ page 18], Joseph W. Hamaker, a senior cost analyst for SAIC, makes erroneous guesses about Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) expenditures to date, and concludes that โ€œplaying with these numbers and being as optimistic as I dare results in costs of well over $1 billion for Falcon 9/Dragon โ€” probably more like $1.5 billion.โ€

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