TechCrunch Space: Grasping the Stars

Greetings, and welcome once again to TechCrunch Space. For those who might have missed the news, Boeing and NASA have opted to extend Starliner’s stay at the International Space Station through the end of this month. The review crucial to their future plans is slated for completion in early August. Following this review, a decision regarding the return of the spacecraft, along with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will be made.

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Highlight of the week

The Falcon 9 is operational again. Nearly two weeks following an incident that interfered with a scheduled Starlink mission, the authorities have given SpaceX a green light to resume its launches, making Falcon 9 the most trusted rocket to date.

What’s catching our eye

A fascinating piece over at Ars Technica by Eric Berger discusses a pivotal challenge in today’s space sector: the shift to NASA’s new fixed-price contracts, which significantly benefits SpaceX but presents major hurdles for competitors.

This presents a considerable quandary, with NASA expressing a desire to foster increased competition, yet no other entity seems capable of matching SpaceX’s pricing. Berger comments:

Currently, SpaceX stands as the sole powerhouse in NASA’s commercial space framework.

This scenario is hardly ideal for NASA, raising numerous concerns among both the agency and policymakers. Should they revert to traditional, cost-plus contracts for most of their requirements, despite being slow and costly? Is handing over a significant portion of spaceflight operations to SpaceX a viable or politically feasible approach? Or should they remain optimistic about other companies catching up, despite early indications suggesting otherwise?

Transitioning toward commercial space operations is commendable. Nonetheless, NASA’s strategy might need to involve lowered requirements and enhanced financial backing to achieve this vision.

A glance at space history this week

Beep beep! (Indeed, lunar rovers don’t come with horns.) On July 30, 1971, astronauts marked a milestone by driving a rover on the moon’s surface for the first time. The prospect of seeing what Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab have in store for the next generation of lunar rovers is thrilling, to say the least.