SpaceX.....Elon Musk....big donor to Obama and recipient of taxpayer monies for his Tesla. Recently quit as an advisor on one of Trump’s committee because Trump walked away from the Paris Accords. Musk was likely chosen for his ties to Obama before Trump took office. No bid Government contracts is another thing Trump needs to stop....NOW.
LOL! SpaceX has been killing ULA on price. The SpaceX capability of reusing boosters by landing them after launch is going to drive down prices a lot lower. Musk is a genius, and SpaceX is his most innovative and important company, IMO. ULA is a dinosaur, and are the ones who had a cozy, crony-style relationship with the government. Competition is a great thing!
Here's the relevant information on price:
As of December 2016, a baseline Atlas 5 rocket launch was selling for about $109 million, though satellite operators can make up at least half that cost by getting more favorable insurance rates and other factors, including an on-time launch, ULA has said.http://fortune.com/2017/04/05/spacex-united-launch-alliance-rocket-price/In contrast, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, lists the base price of a Falcon 9 rocket launch on its website at $62 million.
There's not much need for a bid when SpaceX isn't much more than half the cost of ULA...