SpaceX saved NASA millions of dollars

A study has found that NASA saved millions of dollars by investing in SpaceX.

Edgar Zapata from the Kennedy Space Center published a paper outlining the benefits of NASA’s commercial space programme and public-private partnerships.

NASA created its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme in 2004, which eventually led to an investment in SpaceX.

SpaceX provided cargo delivery capabilities at a fraction of the price it would have cost NASA to use its own cargo spacecraft.

Zapata predicts that NASA’s investment in SpaceX is set to continue, as SpaceX undertakes commercial crew missions.

Now read: NASA funds research into nuclear thermal rockets