So 1960s.
All they had to do is copy what NASA did and used in the 1960s.
What private industry did was nothing new.
Yes, it was new. It was the first time that NASA didn't design the vehicle and have a contractor build it. NASA set the specs on functions, and Space-X designed it, on their own, without NASA micro-management, to meet those specs.
And it was a fixed, firm price contract with progress payments, not cost plus.
/johnny