Then why pay a private company? The government is a single entity that has already been to get moon.
Competition is a good thing and builds more resilient systems.
Competition is a good thing and builds more resilient systems.
> This decision was based on NASA’s longstanding Option A acquisition strategy of making two Option A contract awards. While it remains the Agency’s desire to preserve a competitive environment at this stage of the HLS Program, at the initial prices and milestone payment phasing proposed by each of the Option A offerors, NASA’s current fiscal year budget did not support even a single Option A award. Working in close coordination with the CO, it was therefore my determination that NASA should, as a first step, open price negotiations with the Option A offeror that is both very highly rated from a technical and management perspective and that also had, by a wide margin, the lowest initially-proposed price—SpaceX.
[0] https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/option-...
Look at Apollo. Clearly it was sourced from all over the country in way that created jobs everywhere. Everyone was happy and we put a man on the moon.
Now look at SLS. Clearly it's sourced from all over to create jobs, however it's such a good job creator - it works so well political that the politics have stopped being a parasite on the goal; instead the politics are the goal. SLS is does nothing other then spend money.
There's a funny story involving corruption in 2 countries. In one the minister involved points at a bridge off in the distance and with a wink says "I got 10% of the cost of the bridge in my bank account." In the other country a ministry points to an empty space devoid of anything beyond wilderness. "Hah! I got 100% of the cost of our bridge!"
Politics does get stuff moving but it needs to be a tail being wagged by a dog not the other way 'round.