And it was in that spirit that he launched the National Science Foundation-funded Space Transportation Research Center. But the space company was still fighting. The space agency, known to many in Congress for its refusal to fund new science, is already dealing with a number of issues, including how much the public will get out and how much money will flow in. This month, SpaceX announced that it had won the first $18. 5 million bid for NASA's next Falcon Heavy rocket from the private sector. Some estimates put the launch price of a Falcon Heavy in the $5 billion range in 2018. Those estimates and other estimates are at odds with NASA's current proposal to send four crew members in the next five years and more than a dozen more in 2030, and to make sure Mars is a reality by 2020. The space agency has so far failed to put out a final decision on whether it wants the Falcon Heavy next year or 2020. The new launch was called the Space Launch Technology Center. But SpaceX said the SpaceX-sponsored rocket did not fulfill all of the mission requirements and the new launch at the International Space Station would provide three years of service. It also said the new launch would be the first of several launches beginning next year from that ground station. NASA will be making additional investments to get Mars landing capabilities in the 2030s. It has invested $13. 2 billion of its $34.