"America succeeds in space when American companies compete, innovate, and grow. I'm encouraged to see Congress taking meaningful steps to strengthen the industrial base that underpins both our civil and national security space missions."
"Congress is reinforcing competition and protecting the small and medium-sized manufacturers, propulsion companies, avionics developers, and suppliers that make up the backbone of America's space enterprise. Competition lowers costs, accelerates innovation and provides redundancy."
"If passed into law, this language could effectively prohibit SpaceX from launching crewed lunar missions from Earth on Dragon or Starship for NASA in addition to its existing portfolio."
Congress is considering legislation that would prevent NASA from spending more than 50 percent of its launch funding on any single provider. Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine supports this measure, stating that American space success depends on competition and innovation among companies. The provision targets SpaceX's dominant market share in NASA launches, including crewed missions, cargo operations, and science missions. The legislation aims to protect smaller manufacturers, propulsion companies, and suppliers that form the backbone of America's space enterprise. Competition among providers reduces costs, accelerates innovation, and provides operational redundancy. The provision appears in the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025, with Senate markup scheduled.
Read at Ars Technica
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