Why SpaceX is running away with the commercial space race

Recently, Eric Berger at Ars Technica sounded the alarm about a peculiar and vexing problem in the commercial space sector. 

SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk, is beating the competition hands down for NASA contracts. That includes the old-line aerospace companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin and its fellow new space startups.

SpaceX has achieved an unprecedented degree of reliability and low cost with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. Company engineers...