Government Dependence on SpaceX Is Concerning: Former NASA Head

The U.S. government is increasingly, and worryingly, dependent on SpaceX for launch missions to the International Space Station, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Thursday at a George Washington University/Aerospace Corp. space event. He said government purchases of launch services need to be spread among multiple providers, and those providers should have customers beyond the government, if the end goal is competition on cost and innovation, he said. He said NASA's Space Launch System wasn't designed by the agency but by politicians interested in money going to particular states and Congressional districts.