I have heard at least one reason NASA doesn't work as well as it should is because its methods are dictated by politicians who know nothing. I think the shuttle

I have heard at least one reason NASA doesn't work as well as it should is because its methods are dictated by politicians who know nothing. I think the shuttle program is the common example of this - it was selected by the VP at the time and there were a lot of detractors in the industry saying it was a bad decision. In retrospect the detractors were proven correct.