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+--- Thread: Article Pentagon seeks direct control over Elon’s big rocket for select missions (/thread-15380.html)
Pentagon seeks direct control over Elon’s big rocket for select missions - C C - Feb 2, 2024
https://gizmodo.com/spacex-starship-pentagon-elon-musk-classified-missions-1851216022
INTRO: SpaceX’s Starship is poised to be the most coveted launch vehicle in the world once it’s finally up and running, but the Pentagon is hoping to take things a step further by grabbing full control of the megarocket for critically important missions.
The U.S. Department of Defense is engaging with SpaceX to explore the possibility of the government taking control of the company’s Starship megarocket for “sensitive and potentially dangerous missions,” as first reported by Aviation Weekly. In this proposed scenario, the Pentagon would temporarily acquire a Starship, making it both government property and a government-operated asset. This differs from simply contracting SpaceX for launch services, granting the Pentagon complete control and responsibility for particular missions.
Gary Henry, a senior advisor at SpaceX, disclosed the news on Tuesday while speaking to an audience at the Space Mobility Conference in Orlando, Florida. SpaceX has entered into discussions focusing on particular missions, “where it’s a very specific and sometimes elevated risk or maybe a dangerous use case for the DoD where they’re asking themselves: Do we need to own it as a particular asset…SpaceX, can you accommodate that?” said Henry, as quoted by Aviation Weekly. SpaceX is currently looking into the proposed arrangement and the kinds of options that might be available, he added... (MORE - details)