Falcon Heavy and Space Launch System Program Management Comparison

Clifford Hall, Room 210

Did the entrepreneurial culture of SpaceX enable the earlier success of the Falcon Heavy over an arguably more risk-averse government culture present in the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) program? Although Falcon Heavy and SLS will provide similar heavy lift capabilities, there is a noticeable difference between the implementation of Falcon Heavy and the implementation of SLS, which has not yet been achieved. To resolve the question of why the two similar programs are working under such different timelines, this research effort compares the program management schemes of NASA’s SLS and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy vehicle. Several assumptions are considered during this study: (1) that there is enough similarity between SLS and Falcon Heavy to make a feasible program management comparison; (2) that NASA, as a government entity, is not driven by profit but SpaceX, as a private organization, is focused on profit; and (3) that NASA, as a government entity, may be more constrained by political and funding pressures than SpaceX. Peer reviewed articles are analyzed to include topics such as: the history of risk aversion at NASA (very extensive history) and of SpaceX (questionable history of risk aversion); and the goals of each organization (NASA may be more science-oriented, while SpaceX could be more focused on profit). In order to ensure a thorough analysis, SpaceX and NASA are compared against the criteria for mechanistic and organic organizations as described by Burns and Stalker (1961). These criteria, considered along with the results of Thematic Content Analysis conducted on SpaceX and NASA leadership, are intended to illuminate the differences between SpaceX and NASA that allowed SpaceX to launch its Falcon Heavy vehicle first.