Aerospace Is Bigger Than Elon Musk's Ego

The past few weeks have clearly demonstrated that Elon Musk doesn’t play well with others, and that doesn’t bode well for SpaceX, Musk’s private aerospace company.

In an industry like aerospace, cooperation is integral to both mission success and human advancement. Personal egos need to be checked at the door. Musk, more than most, should understand that space exploration is more important than any one company. That’s what makes his recent behavior even more disheartening.

In early February, NASA announced that the United Launch Alliance (ULA) would be awarded the contract for the Lucy mission. This incredibly ambitious mission would send the Lucy spacecraft to seven unexplored asteroids orbiting Jupiter, all of which could hold clues to the formation of Earth’s solar system. Launching in 2021, the shuttle would arrive at the asteroid belt in 2025 and ultimately encounter the various asteroids from 2027 to 2033.

Given the mission’s aggressive time table and ULA’s previous record of successful, reliable rocket launches, it’s not entirely surprising that NASA selected ULA to receive the $150 million contract. What was surprising, however, was Musk’s reaction. Rather than accepting the bad news with dignity, Musk’s SpaceX fought to have the decision overturned. On February 11, SpaceX filed an official protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), arguing that NASA made a mistake by not awarding them the Lucy contract.

The thrust of SpaceX’s argument is this: they could execute the mission for less than money than the United Launch Alliance. This very well may be true; SpaceX’s business model specializes in providing low-cost launch services. The problem, though, is that price is only one factor to consider. With a very tight launch window and a mission as intensive as Lucy, NASA needed to factor in not just the cost to the government, but also the timeliness, quality, and reliability of the services. And when it comes to producing reliable, quality products in a timely fashion, SpaceX has struggled in the past.

There’s little doubt that Musk understands the reasons why his company was not selected for the Lucy mission. Still, it’s difficult to argue with a bruised ego. For years now, SpaceX has been a dominant force in the aerospace industry, and it would frustrate anyone to watch their competition beat their company to a big payday. However, rather than taking the high road and accepting the outcome, Musk decided to put the very mission itself in jeopardy.

The Lucy mission has been put on hold while the GAO arbitrates the protest. Usually, SpaceX would be doing little more than wasting everyone’s time, since the GAO is unlikely to find sufficient evidence to overturn NASA’s decision. In this instance, however, the potential consequences are much more dire.

The Lucy mission involves an exacting, three-week launch window which emphasizes the necessity for punctuality and reliability. This window seeks to capitalize on a rare opportunity to use the Earth’s gravity to slingshot the rocket to its destination around Jupiter. Without that boost, the mission couldn’t work. And if significant delays cause NASA to miss the launch, the opportunity could be lost completely.

Even if the GAO ruled in favor of SpaceX, the delay and added cost thereof would render the mission effectively pointless. The launch contract would likely be reopened for bidding, a process that could take as long as six months to complete. This added complication would practically rule out the possibility of Lucy launching within its critical 20-day window in October 2021. Not only that, the delay would cost NASA anywhere between $75-100 million, offsetting any potential savings that SpaceX would have provided in the first place.

By protesting NASA’s decision, Musk’s SpaceX is exacerbating an already compressed launch schedule, wasting taxpayer dollars, and threatening what would be a major human achievement. Musk needs to wake up. There are much bigger concerns in aerospace than his company’s ability to land lucrative contracts. He would be wise to check his ego and take that lesson to heart, working to ensure his company qualifies for similar missions in the future.

Judson Phillips is the founder of Tea Party Nation, one of the largest tea-party groups in the country and the No. 1 national tea-party site on the Internet. He is also a freelance author and frequent guest on cable and broadcast news shows, including on Fox, MSNBC, CNN, and others.