Re:Boeing CEO Vows to Beat Musk to Mars
by robotresearcher on Wednesday October 05, 2016 @02:57PM
(#12646693)
> what's in it for both companies - besides notoriety?
Financially:
(1) It's a wonderful tech demo and brand builder to attract customers who want to buy a ride to LEO on a very reliable rocket.
(2) To get to mars without a national-sized budget, they need to make the entire project stack cheaper and more reliable than ever before, which helps them sell rides to LEO cheaper than the competition.
(3) What's the end-game here? We land and say "we did it!"... then what?
Musk says he is dead serious about a permanent colony on Mars as insurance against human extinction on Earth. There's no end game - it's the beginning of life spreading from the Earth.
Financially:
(1) It's a wonderful tech demo and brand builder to attract customers who want to buy a ride to LEO on a very reliable rocket.
(2) To get to mars without a national-sized budget, they need to make the entire project stack cheaper and more reliable than ever before, which helps them sell rides to LEO cheaper than the competition.
(3) What's the end-game here? We land and say "we did it!"... then what?
Musk says he is dead serious about a permanent colony on Mars as insurance against human extinction on Earth. There's no end game - it's the beginning of life spreading from the Earth.