Is Falcon Heavy An SLS Killer?

Elon Musk is set to launch his Falcon Heavy rocket, a flamethrower of another sort, Washington Post

"It could also play a part in the Trump administration's plans to return to the moon. Over the weekend, Nick Ayers, Vice President Pence's chief of staff, tweeted that the rocket would have "major (positive) ramifications for US space industry if this goes according to plan." SpaceX has said that the Falcon Heavy would cost $90 million a launch, a fraction of what NASA's more powerful Space Launch System would cost. Last year, Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said the SLS rocket would cost about $1 billion per launch. With such a vast difference in price, some have wondered if the Falcon Heavy obviates the need for SLS. "If the SpaceX model works, it creates direct competition to SLS," said Howard McCurdy, a professor of public affairs at American University."

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