Space Cadet (OWL)

Comment Threads

• Papa commented on Commercial Sector Reaction
  This is a bit of a stereotype, but it's true enough to mention. When NASA tries something, the solution tends to grow more and more beautiful and capable and elegant, while costs climb; and often there are not a lot of incentives to restrain that tendency. When NASA defines requirements and asks for bids, the contractors fall all over themselves trying to drive the cost down. The incentive is competition. If it's a fixed price contract, even better: the amount of profit rides on efficient and effective engineering decisions. The key is getting good requirements at the start. Our experience...

• Conley Powell commented on Commercial Sector Reaction
  But, Papa, no one is proposing that NASA design and build rockets. Those days are long gone. For today's NASA to attempt anything of the sort would be a disaster. If you're suggesting that the less meddling with contractors by NASA, the better the results, I couldn't agree more. But why should we expect NASA to meddle less with SpaceX than Boeing? Probably it would be the other way around....

• ex_navy commented on Commercial Sector Reaction
  "Research and trades can be an essential part of getting this right. Do it too long and it chokes the program, but do it too little and the costs will balloon once you discover your mistakes. I think a long and well-managed Phase A can be the best thing for a big program" I agree but it seems to me the whole HLV thing has been studied to death already. Do we really not know what are high level requirements are? Do we really need 5 years of trade studies to figure it out? It's not like we are starting...

• ex_navy commented on Commercial Sector Reaction
  "I don't think it'd be easy to create incentives like that for a team at a NASA center" Have to disagree. We are doing it now on ISS operations. In 2008 we were given challenge to reduce costs by 30% to help fund Constellation. We have revamped how we do ISS flight control and training and are on track to meet our cost reduction goals by the target date of 2012. In fact MOD management is creating an environment of continuous improvement with a focus on becoming more efficient and reducing cost. All you need is good leadership and a...

• Papa commented on Commercial Sector Reaction
  When the engineering, especially system engineering leadership, is housed within an organization with strong natural incentives to reduce cost -- Priority 1, like a profit motive, or competitive bidding -- then the product is much more likely to be close to the minimum cost and not a milligram more capable than it needs to be. Cost-plus contractors and civil servants usually don't have that powerful an incentive. So I was asserting that "unmeddled" companies, especially on fixed price or while still competing for a role, are inherently better at it than NASA centers. Although ex_navy is making a strong case...