Bolden “not a big fan” of private development of large launch vehicles
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.0210103
Ars Technica : On 13 September NASA director Charles Bolden revealed that he thinks large launch vehicles such as the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) are best left to government development. He had originally been asked at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Space 2016 Conference for his opinion on the emerging market for small launch vehicles. But Bolden focused on the private large-rocket industry led by SpaceX and Blue Origin , which are developing rockets that will be direct competition for the SLS. He did not clarify why he views private development unfavorably. Costs for development and operations of the SLS are estimated to reach $60 billion through the 2030s. Both companies are developing rockets with reusable booster stages; the SLS will be fully expendable.
