In response to the rumblings that Boeing, Lockmart, and NG are going to refuse any future fixed-price contracts from NASA.
For decades, Congress has mandated that NASA be a jobs program because that allows Congress to direct the jobs to the NASA centers and LM/Boeing/subcontractor plants in their districts and states. Just look at the PowerPoints created for space projects: EVERY one has a US map…
— David Gump (@SoldTheMoon) October 24, 2024
Oh no!! Anyways… https://t.co/RW1yWOtY27 pic.twitter.com/0JzpRjEs83
— Ken Kirtland IV (@KenKirtland17) October 24, 2024
[Update a few minutes later]
Society if Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman stop bidding on NASA projects https://t.co/1iY2gt5LEg pic.twitter.com/eEJ7OExSkl
— Ken Kirtland IV (@KenKirtland17) October 24, 2024
NASA needs to burned to the ground and re-built.
The final ‘A’ in its acronym needs to be replaced with an L(aboratories).
It’s funding model is ass-backwards. Rather than funding projects it should seek same from commercial companies wanting to do space related projects but lack the laboratory, hardware or skill set to conduct testing of their ideas. Getting NASA back to its NACA roots when it thrived and also helped commercial aviation do the same.
There is no reason it cannot do the same for space. Albeit much smaller and confined to the existing centers until a demonstrable need for a new center can be shown. Yeah it looses the pork barrel, but it will anyway.
Like the massive defense base closures of the 1980s, the current model is unsustainable.
If the cost plus guys cannot survive, so be it. That’s capitalism in action…
Right. And if Eric wants NASA to support other companies than SpaceX, maybe those other companies should look more closely at what Elon’s doing. I mean, we’ve had so many fizzle out after years, but surely Elon doesn’t have *all* the competent people.
Rocket Labs has had 11 launches so far this year. They’re a few years behind SpaceX.
I think the biggest thing SpaceX has done is eliminate the giggle factor. Nobody laughs at space companies now.
There was a quote I saw a few decades back about NASA–I’m too fuzzy on the details to be able to google it. Somone was talking about how everyone lied to the appropriations committee about how much funding they needed, but NASA’s lies were on a whole other scale. I’d kind of like to dig up the original quote–does it sound familiar to anyone?
Rocket Labs has had 11 launches so far this year. They’re a few years behind SpaceX.
I think the biggest thing SpaceX has done is eliminate the giggle factor. Nobody laughs at space companies now.