XPost: sci.space.policy, sci.physics   
   From: jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca   
      
   On 2017-08-25 00:51, Fred J. McCall wrote:   
      
   > The only 'upgrade' that was going to fix the Shuttle costs was 'scrap   
   > and replace'.  Well, unless you can start paying the 'standing army'   
   > slave wages.   
      
   Even NASA had plans to make changes to the shuttle to reduce its costs   
   significantly. But not allowed/no budget to implement.   
      
   The problem with a "goverment programme" is that politician manage   
   budgets, and initiative by workers are often blocked by politicians.   
      
   > Nobody is ever "garanteed[sic] X& profit margin on costs".  Have you   
   > ever managed anything more complex than your lunch money?   
      
   Many government contracts are or were based on cost + (which is   
   garanteed profit margin).   
      
      
   > Uh, you know Boeing is a private enterprise, right?   
      
   Boeing relies heavily on lobbying to get subsidies for commercial   
   airplanes, tax breaks, and very profitable military and space contracts.   
   It isn't a normal "private enterprise".  And for space, it has operated   
   in a low/no competition market with no incentive to make radical   
   innovation to lower costs.   
      
   With all its engineering talent, how come Boeing couldn't come up with   
   the equivalent of low cost Falcon 9 rockets decades before the new kid   
   on the block SpaceX ?   
      
   The answer is simple: lobbying ensures you continue to get contracts   
   despite having highly inefficient very costly launchers.   
      
   If NASA weren't influenced by lobbying, do you really think they would   
   have launched its latest TDRS on an expensive Atlas rocket or would they   
   have gone witgh much cheaper SpaceX Falcon 9?   
      
   Do you think politicians would have allowed NASA to stop getting SRBs   
   from ATK because it was switching to liquid fly back boosters?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)