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Elon Musk, whose company has made headlines by delivering cargo to the International Space
Station, says the launching of national security satellites should be subject to bidding.
The federal government saves money by asking companies to bid on contracts for all sorts
of work, such as cleaning, consulting and construction.
Elon Musk, who runs SpaceX, wants to add launching national security satellites to the list.
The California-based company that's made an international splash delivering cargo to the
International Space Station wants a piece of the Pentagon's business, too. And the Defense
Department wants to at least explore the idea of opening up competition in the face of tight
budgets and soaring launch costs. Since 2006, each of 68 space launches for
the U.S. Air Force has been handled by one entity: United Launch Alliance, formed as
a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Over that period, the money Congress has approved
for launching national security hardware into space has jumped from $613 million a year
to $1.63 billion in fiscal 2014. The Pentagon projects it will cost another $70 billion
through 2030.