[gokhan]

SpaceX's success is extraordinary, but I'm sure it would be much more harder to reach where they are without the helping hand of NASA, years of government backed research. They can also hire scientists and engineers trained on-job by NASA, again funded by American public.

Elon Musk couldn't do what he did in South Africa, for example. It's just like being a startup in the wally, everything is more smoothe there.