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They're happy enough to put all their eggs in the even more untried SLS basket. I've read that the fundamental problem for NASA is that they are a political fo
by JulianMorrison 5y ago
They're happy enough to put all their eggs in the even more untried SLS basket.
I've read that the fundamental problem for NASA is that they are a political football. They have at most 8 years of one administration before the next comes in, and Congress can change hands several times even in that span. As such, the only way to create a program that won't be announced to great fanfare one year and cancelled the next, is to make it out of solid, Congressional grade pork. Which would be SLS. Since nobody benefits by cancelling it, it won't be cancelled. Even if it becomes an obsolete and ridiculous white elephant.
- panick21_ 5y ago> to make it out of solid, Congressional grade pork. Which would be SLS. Since nobody benefits by cancelling it, There are always other people who think 'maybe those Alabama $ could go to Texas instead'.
- bryanlarsen 5y agoSLS pork is spread to all 50 states. Texas gets a good chunk of it. A small fraction of $2B is more than all of $10M.
- JulianMorrison 5y agoThe waste is not even a downside.
- panick21_ 5y agoNASA budget will not change that much so the money will still be spent. You can compare launch cost like that. And while it might use all 50 states, in reality the waste majority of money is spend in a very few locations as paying labor is huge part of the cost.