Geyer won't say how much contracting out this first test flight to Lockheed Martin is saving taxpayers, though he did say it makes financial sense. He said Lockheed has expertise in areas that NASA "doesn't need to get in the middle of." "They know how to integrate rockets. They've built rockets," he said. "So we contracted with them and we said, 'Look, I'm going to give you these objectives. I want you to test the heat shield, I want you to test the avionics. I want you to test the parachutes.'"