Comments by "ke6gwf - Ben Blackburn" (@ke6gwf) on "" video.

I think what surprised Jeff was that SpaceX was considered acceptable. I am sure they knew SX would be much cheaper, but didn't care because they figured it would be ruled out. They played fast and loose with the specs and requirements expecting to be the only serious bid, and then be able to charge more to correct the issues later. They thought they only had to be better than Dynetics, and that SpaceX wasn't going to be a serious competition.
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@Cara.314 you don't get it. These are fixed price bids, SpaceX doesn't get to charge more money, unless NASA changes the specs and has to renegotiate it. If it costs more than SpaceX bid, SpaceX has to come up with the extra money, not NASA. This is not a Cost Plus project where NASA has to absorb cost overruns. The Vegas loop isn't in its final form yet, so the jury is still out on if it will meet the needs. With some custom people movers it should be able to just fine.
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@ImieNazwiskoOK I personally like the Dynetics design, much better than BO, though not as good as Moonship, but it had technical problems with negative weight capacity etc.
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@xponen ladder is an issue because it's such a long climb, so an astronaut with an injured arm or leg would have a very difficult time getting back to the capsule, plus high chances of slipping off. Starship uses an elevator so all fall hazards can be mitigated easily.
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@xponen I think I heard Moonship will have dual hoists for redundancy, and I am sure they will have some sort of additional backup rope climbers or something. I mean, they are NOT weight or space limited, so they can toss in extra Black Diamond climbing gear, put rungs on the outside of the rocket, etc, and not blink lol BO on the other hand is totally reliant on a very tall ladder that OSHA would not approve of.
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I wonder if the National Team had dismissed SpaceX as a valid threat, thinking that there was no way NASA would approve of the technical merits of Moonship, and so despite knowing that SX would be much cheaper, felt they could skimp on features and ignore pricing rules, and then be able to charge more for charges later, and maybe bargain on the price a little bit, because they believed that they were a shoe in, with room to bargain. Getting dinged on both technical and pricing, and not being given a chance to bargain must have shocked them, just as much as SX being given the contract.
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