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> Historically NASA hovers at around a 10:1 ROI. I suggest you look at what was spent on the Space Shuttle, which turned out to be non-reusable (it was re-manu
by redis_mlc 6y ago
> Historically NASA hovers at around a 10:1 ROI.
I suggest you look at what was spent on the Space Shuttle, which turned out to be non-reusable (it was re-manufactured after each flight for up to a year.) No ROI there.
Fun facts: NASA knew from the very first flight that they were losing several tiles during launch, and no tiles were optional. Also, NASA managers were given photos of Columbia's damaged wing, which had a gaping hole in the leading edge, before re-entry, and sat on them. I wouldn't fly a Cessna 152 like that.)
https://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html https://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html
That and the ISS sucked most of the funding out of US space research and is still going on.
My constructive suggestion? Take a chain saw to the ISS on the next "mission."
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y agoI am aware of the design failures of the shuttle and their consequences. This does not invalidate what I said about the net historical ROI of NASA. Please go research a bit more.
- redis_mlc 6y agoOver $110 billion has been spent on the ISS through 2020, excluding international partners. (It makes me want to vomit when I read that. That's 5 new CERN super-colliders, where you know, real science is done.) Unless we made a trillion dollars on that bungled program alone, still not seeing ROI: https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-ig-iss-cost-u-s-75-billion-so-far-estimates-of-future-costs-overly-optimistic/ https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-ig-iss-cost-u-s-75-b...
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y agoAgain, you're cherry picking things. Just google nasa roi please.
- redis_mlc 6y ago1) I found the reference from 1976 you're referring to, which is so misleading as to be false (note the cumulative arithmetic in Table 5. Trees don't grow to the sky.) https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19760017002.pdf https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/197600... In addition, that was pre-bungled Space Shuttle and ISS programs. Even the GAO is reticent to talk about how much money was wasted in those programs in case future space programs would be immediately cancelled due to gross mismanagement. 2) If you're a scifi fanboi, just admit that you support whatever wasteful spending NASA does. But don't hide behind obfuscated numbers that you haven't read and don't understand.
- mulmen 6y agoLet me make sure I have this straight. Trees don’t grow to the sky but we should have built five more colliders instead of a unique zero gravity research laboratory?
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y agoI was not referring to this source. It's a well known general observation with support from multiple researchers. Your second point goes beyond the bounds of civility here.