Timeline for Why does the government still fund SLS while SpaceX is cheaper and has the same capabilities if not better?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
9 events
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| Jul 21, 2020 at 19:48 | comment | added | SafeFastExpressive | I think SpaceX is a complete example of how existing institutional expertise is of less importance than actual talent. Tom Mueller is a good example, he was the key hire, and he was an experienced rocket engineer (and amateur rocket enthusiast). Hiring him at SpaceX gave him opportunities Old Space would not, and gave SpaceX talent that would be very difficult and time consuming to build from scratch. You don't have to hire people who spent decades at top NASA projects, you can find talent all over the place. | |
| Jul 21, 2020 at 18:00 | comment | added | Harper - Reinstate Monica | @SafeFastExpressive I have promptly removed the 737 Max reference, it was never my intention to pick political fights or float particular conspiracy theories, and I apologize if my random example inadvertently did that. I didn’t say anything about favored contractors or directing the work to contractor X vs Y. However it is a genuine fact that the government does look after the corporate well-being of their defense contractors. And you arm-wave how easy/hard it is to assemble and maintain a brain-trust. People are not interchangeable cogs; institutional expertise is a thing. | |
| Jul 21, 2020 at 17:58 | history | edited | Harper - Reinstate Monica | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jul 21, 2020 at 15:27 | comment | added | SafeFastExpressive | This is just conspiracy theory masquerading as an answer. Congress designed and funded the SLS with a clear purpose is funding favored contractors. None of it has anything to do with employment or funding the 737 Max. Those engineers don't disappear, can always be re-hired, and new engineers can be poached from other aerospace projects. | |
| Jul 18, 2020 at 16:17 | comment | added | Harper - Reinstate Monica | @OrganicMarble They were just toss-in examples; I think they're irrelevant. I'll just remove them.. | |
| Jul 18, 2020 at 16:16 | history | edited | Harper - Reinstate Monica | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jul 18, 2020 at 14:54 | comment | added | DrSheldon | The core idea of this answer (employment) is correct, but its supporting arguments don't help the answer. | |
| Jul 18, 2020 at 12:44 | comment | added | Organic Marble | Do you have any evidence for this? For example, that the same people might work on the SLS and ASATs? | |
| Jul 18, 2020 at 12:34 | history | answered | Harper - Reinstate Monica | CC BY-SA 4.0 |