Boeing is even acknowledging that SpaceX has a one-year lead on Boeing for doing their first test flights, so maybe this means they don’t feel confident that enough money will be available from NASA for a second crew transportation provider if there is too much of a gap between when the first and second providers are certified. That Congress could, in order to save money, just go with SpaceX, who could be ready well before everyone else with a vehicle that already has a lot of heritage behind it.

So Boeing may be figuring that they need to invest more to ensure their current investment doesn’t go to waste. Of course that is a pure business-approach analysis, but there is the possibility that Boeing could truly be interested in establishing themselves as a future choice for space transportation – that as a company they are willing to make a long-term investment to be one of the key transportation providers. I hope for the later, but if it means they add more investment, I’ll take either.