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> that makes congresscritters happy Read: prevents program cancellation Many politicians don't care about science. No politicians ignore high paying jobs in
by ethbr0 4y ago
> that makes congresscritters happy
Read: prevents program
cancellation
Many politicians don't care about science.
No politicians ignore high paying jobs in their districts.
People throw stones at NASA for optimizing within its system of funding, but it was a fairly brilliant move in the 50s and 60s, and is still a brilliant move today.
Both NASA and SpaceX et al. can be optimal in their own funding landscapes.
- panick21_ 4y agoThat would be true if that's what they were doing. But NASA can't actually optimize the way you suggest. NASA is hard locked in particular architectures and locations. They are not free to make a design and then allocate it to different districts. If NASA could actually optimize like that, they could actually make rational choices, but they can't.