> NASA worked better when produced everything in-house. NASA doesn't run a rocket factory. It used to be that NASA specified and ordered hardware from contract

> NASA worked better when produced everything in-house. NASA doesn't run a rocket factory. It used to be that NASA specified and ordered hardware from contractors then integrated and operated it in house. The space shuttle orbiter was built by Rockwell (now ~Boeing), the external tank by Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), the SRBs by Morton Thiokol (now ATK). Commercial cargo and commercial crew change this model to NASA specifying and ordering missions or mission capabilities. This affords the vendor more autonomy in how they choose to solve problems, and NASA's still in the loop to sign off on their solutions. In principle, this approach contains cost overruns, since NASA pays only for the deliverable. What it doesn't contain are schedule overruns…