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If you look at their budget, NASA’s funding has rarely been reduced and is currently it’s highest ever. Their political spin is that their rate of budget growth
by jonhohle 4y ago
If you look at their budget, NASA’s funding has rarely been reduced and is currently it’s highest ever. Their political spin is that their rate of budget growth may be lowered or their percentage of the federal budget (around 0.5%) may be affected.
My perception (unfortunately) is that NASA’s budget is its highest, but their public contribution and visibility are near its lowest. From the casual observer, NASA looks like two decades of mismanagement and a lot of whining about funding without doing anything to justify what they are getting.
- brycewray 4y ago> If you look at their budget, NASA’s funding has rarely been reduced Apollo 18, Apollo 19, Apollo 20, and the orbit repair of Skylab have entered the chat.
- Steltek 4y agoToo pessimistic. They launched JWST and put a helicopter on Mars this year. Last year, we touched the Sun. They're doing insanely great science work. Rocket tech lags because it competes with the private market, which the people with money don't like.
- CrazyStat 4y ago> Rocket tech lags because it competes with the private market, which the people with money don't like. This is exactly backwards. Rocket tech lags because NASA, via congress, has been captured by the private market to ensure that existing big players continue to get contracts. SLS is a boondoggle in large part because Congress required that it use half-century-old rocket tech. Not because of concerns about competing with the private market, but to ensure that the major players that got contracted to build the shuttle rockets half a century ago continue to get contracts. This lagging rocket tech created by Congressional capture (and a similar situation in Europe) created the private rocket market, not the other way around as you suggest.
- DSMan195276 4y ago> If you look at their budget, NASA’s funding has rarely been reduced and is currently it’s highest ever. I assume you're not adjusting for inflation? That seems more than a bit misleading.
- bandyaboot 4y agoI really hope the casual observer has some perception of how wildly successful NASA (and friends) have been in planetary exploration.