"Overall, I would rate it as a success," Marco Caceres, director of space studies with Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based consulting firm, said in a phone interview.

"It is tricky to hit something that small to begin with, but to hit with the right velocity so that it lands perfectly when the barge is moving in the ocean -- that's a tough challenge," Caceres said. "They're not taking the easy way. That's not the conservative approach."

"This is huge," said Marco Caceres, senior analyst and director of space studies at Teal Group. "It would break up a monopoly and has the potential to save the taxpayer an awful lot of money."

"Boeing's cost structure is higher than SpaceX — that's just a fact," said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst at the Teal Group.

Because the aerospace giant has been around longer, it most likely has an older, more experienced workforce with higher wages and labor costs, he added.

But the biggest cost differences likely come from manufacturing processes. Boeing builds its Delta rocket and Atlas V launchers in a vertical position, while SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets are assembled horizontally, which is easier and saves on time.

Meantime, SpaceX is a vertically integrated company, building all of its parts in-house, with no subcontractors. Boeing employs numerous subcontractors to build components, which adds to costs. "When you become a more established company, you can't be a specialist in everything," Caceres said.

Marco Caceres, senior space analyst for the Fairfax, Virginia-based Teal Group, said there have been no public disclosures of any anomalies in the April 18 mission. Caceres, who follows the launch industry, said that even if there was a glitch with the mission, such as falling short of the intended orbit, it was a success because the SpaceX vehicle was able to dock with the space station. “Rockets don’t usually fall short in delivering their payloads to the intended orbit, but it happens on occasion,” he said. “It’s certainly legitimate for Rogers to ask.”

SpaceX’s prices are so low that they could upend the price structure the Air Force has used in sending military satellites into orbit. “What we do know is that if you look at a SpaceX heavy launcher like a Falcon 9 or a Falcon heavy, it’s at least 50 percent cheaper than a comparable vehicle by Boeing or Lockheed,” said Marco Caceres, senior analyst at the Teal Group Corp. in Fairfax, Va. “We’re talking at least $50 million cheaper per vehicle so it’s a significant cost saving for the Air Force.”