How SpaceX Stole NASA's Crown (But Nearly Didn't)

SpaceX launches 135 rockets a year. NASA launch five. SpaceX delivers cargo to orbit for $2,800 per kilo. NASA charge $90,000. In fifteen years, one company did what a government agency couldn't do in sixty.Mark and Jeremy work through chapters one to three of Space to Grow by Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau, covering the three-act history of NASA and the birth of the private space industry.This episode covers: How the Apollo programme's end and the Columbia disaster forced NASA to open the gates to private companies The COTS contracts that shifted financial risk onto private companies and drove innovation Elon Musk's failed Russia trip and the decision to build SpaceX from scratch Three rocket explosions, $100 million left, and a fourth rocket built from spare parts in a shed Why someone had to climb inside a rocket mid-flight to hammer out the dents SpaceX suing the Air Force over launch contracts and winning · Jeff Bezos at five years old watching Apollo, then quietly building Blue Origin for a decade The four principles behind SpaceX's success: iteration, vertical integration, reusability, and culture "I'm going to build the Honda Civic of space rockets"--⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: [email protected](00:00) Trailer(01:02) Space To Grow(01:55) Incorporate Space Into Your Thinking(03:28) The Apollo Program Ends(05:43) The NASA Budget & Shuttle Launches(07:51) Bush & The Aldridge Commission(08:36) COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services)(10:27) Blue Origin, Bezos & O'Neill(14:40) A Quick History Of SpaceX(18:23) Falcon Blows Up(20:24) Elon Sues The Airforce(22:04) SpaceX Launch Costs(23:45) The Honda Civic Of Space Rockets