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Setting aside the question of whether one telescope-sized duck is more formidable than ten duck-sized telescopes, is it really plausible that the funding and ma

Setting aside the question of whether one telescope-sized duck is more formidable than ten duck-sized telescopes, is it really plausible that the funding and management processes that produced the JWST might learn from past mistakes and evolve toward more efficient use of time and money? If we're going to make that shift at all, I personally think sending ~$10B up in smoke will hurt rather than help. We're arguably already on a good trajectory (heh) with increased competition in the launch services market threatening to break up the pork party, and that kind of loss would be a big PR blow for NASA.

sandworm101 5y ago
>> that the funding and management processes that produced the JWST might learn from past mistakes and evolve toward more efficient use of time and money? Nope. This is a generational project. At all levels, but more so at the top, the people involved have spent significant blocks of their working lives on this project. Many have begun and ended decade-spanning carriers totally within this one program. It has taken so long that few will be around to contribute to the next. The institutional knowledge will have all retired or moved on by the time we are ready to fund the next epic telescope. This problem has parallels other programs such as the F-35. Nobody lives/works long enough to see the project from beginning to end. Everyone at the start moves on/up/out. Those present at the end joined in the middle after major decisions were already set in stone. Priorities shift. Deadlines measured in decades start to seem unreal. Everything slips into bloat and delay because so few expect to still be around on D-day. It's a problem with no good solution.