I know nothing specific about the JWST, but here is a theory: NASA is a government agency, which makes what it does ultimately political. In a political "econ

I know nothing specific about the JWST, but here is a theory: NASA is a government agency, which makes what it does ultimately political. In a political "economy", the return on investments is mainly PR. Politicians aim to get voter sympathy in return for investing $B in NASA. And voters won't much care if you put up 3 JWSTs or 1.