“SpaceX is already flying, and Boeing is stuck on Earth.” A harsh assessment of the head of NASA

NASA Chief Administrator Bill Nelson gave an interview to Newsweek, where he compared SpaceX’s recent achievements with Boeing’s results. Everything indicates that Elon Musk’s much less established company is doing significantly better than a company with decades of experience.

The head of NASA – SpaceX has achieved more than Boeing

– When we started the crew and cargo programs, the only serious applications came from SpaceX and Boeing. Everyone was dismissive of SpaceX and mentioned that Boeing was a company with a long history. But guess who is preparing the sixth flight and has completed the first test mission with astronauts, and who is still stuck on Earth – commented Nelson for the weekly.

The administrator was referring to the NASA Commercial Crew program. The SpaceX Crew Dragon already delivers astronauts to the ISS, and its counterpart – Boeing Starliner – still being tested on Earth. Moreover, according to NASA’s manager, SpaceX is “on track” to send astronauts to the Moon aboard its Starship. Meanwhile, the launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket co-created by Boeing as part of the Artemis I mission has already been interrupted twice.

SpaceX vs. Boeing

NASA, Boeing and others spent 12 years developing SLS. SpaceX began launching Starship prototypes in 2020 and plans to launch the first Starship into Earth orbit this year. – I think that the private sector of space technologies has many advantages. Just look at what they have already achieved, Nelson enthused.

It is also worth recalling that NASA has already awarded SpaceX 14 missions, and the latest of them is a contract for $1.4 billion for five consecutive launches of astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile, Boeing can boast of 6 missions awarded and has still not finalized the design of the Starliner spacecraft intended for transport to the ISS.