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Comment by elif | Hacker News Reader

I don't get how spaceX builds it, but NASA "owns and operates" the vehicle. Surely spaceX rockets are chock full of proprietary internal tooling and services. They are an almost totally vertical company.

Does SpaceX just open their stack to NASA? Or does SpaceX just provide an 'api' layer of control, making this 'own and operate' a weird almost anachronistic distinction?

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Maybe "operating" only means NASA makes the decisions, but mission control is outsourced to SpaceX? Alternatively it could be part of the contract that SpaceX provides everything needed to operate the mission, as well as training for NASA personnel on how to use their stuff, as well as providing people on standby for "troubleshooting and tech support".

I don't know, but it seems like this sort of thing is perfectly normal for military contracts, so why not for NASA?

Both my computer and my car are chock full of proprietary internal tooling and interfaces. My evaporative cooler and its thermostat are a proprietary bundle with undisclosed internal communication. I'd like to think I still own and operate all of those.

“Own” is likely a very simplistic term for the complex agreement in place between SpaceX and NASA. I’m sure SpaceX retains all of the developed IP, but NASA can “do whatever they want” with the actual ship.

I’m sure this is all spelled out under some commercial partnership agreement

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