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In general it's better to have multiple working designs. First, in case something happens with one, another can keep the traffic; that's what happened e.g. with
by avmich 5y ago
In general it's better to have multiple working designs. First, in case something happens with one, another can keep the traffic; that's what happened e.g. with ISS manned flights, when after the Columbia destruction flights moved to Soyuzes. Second, market - if the service is bought from a commercial company, competition helps keeping prices in check. Cost plus scheme, used by the NASA for a long time, does a rather poor job, evidenced by the USA leaving international launch market before the SpaceX coming.
- Axien 5y agoYea that is a nice to have. But why is going to the Moon so critical and time sensitive we need redundant transport systems? If the Moon lander breaks we wait a few years for the fix. Not a big deal. Money is not free, there is another priority not getting funded. A better solution would be to buy one Moon lander system and take the money saved and fund other critical tech.