Contrast with the Falcon 9: it requires transporting massive solid fuel segments around and assembling them into a quite poor-performing and environmentally unfriendly first stage, it requires massive vibration damping systems to keep the vehicle and payload intact, it can't be tested prior to launch, it can't abort without destroying the vehicle and putting any launch escape systems to the test (while the Falcon 9 just recently demonstrated the capability to abort due to abnormal conditions detected after ignition, and launch a few days later after replacing a component), it requires coordinating multiple companies based in different countries, with all the additional paperwork and red tape that involves...
ATK has some major political support, that's the only reason this thing has any chance of flying.
