&gt; Boeing and the ULA are not SpaceX competitors. They&#x27;re a last gasp attempt to keep the existing pork&#x2F;gravy train of cost plus contracting and congressional district graft in place.<p>No, Boeing and the other ULA members (both as ULA and separately) are SpaceX competitors for (particularly) government contract work, what you call &quot;congressional district graft&quot; is part of the game they play to maximize the value and duration of those contracts (to make them politically hard to curtail), but aren&#x27;t what they exist to support -- you&#x27;ve got what is being served and what is serving reversed.