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> We need a shift to more missions, building these things more often and more on price This only very recently became financially reasonable with SpaceX. It wo
by nexuist 5y ago
> We need a shift to more missions, building these things more often and more on price
This only very recently became financially reasonable with SpaceX. It would have been impossible for NASA to know at that time that private industry would manage to lower the cost of launch by magnitudes.
Cost didn't matter back then because you only got one shot to launch anyways. If the rocket blew up and took the satellite with it you're never getting approval to launch again. It would be better to let the project overrun than to worry about financials and contractual obligations when the risk of cancellation or failure is already so high. But now, with launches being relatively cheap, it is actually possible to envision a backup plan where a second satellite goes up with a second rocket. Again, this only very recently (maybe ~5 years ago?) became possible.
I agree with you now though - NASA ought to be reconsidering overhauling its procurement process now that Falcon 9 exists.
- panick21_ 5y agoDisagree. Even with Atlas 5 this was not totally unreasonable. > If the rocket blew up and took the satellite with it you're never getting approval to launch again. That's not accurate.
- nexuist 5y agoThis is all hypotheticals of course, but is it really likely that if a major satellite was lost NASA would be willing to bankroll the construction of a second identical one? I think the whole project would be scrapped and something else down the line would be approved to replace it. It certainly wouldn't be a quick turnaround time.
- Veedrac 5y agoThese things are a consequence of unaccountable, unvompetitive contractors, not just a cause. We could have had routine volume space flight many decades ago, if the money we spent went to competitive free market purchases. Even the Space Shuttle was originally meant to have something like weekly launches, and then they didn't, mostly for bad political reasons.