For crying out loud.
What is happening with America? We are sending our manufacturing to China, our businesses all around the globe, and we’re no longer in space.
Whose idea was this, and why is everyone selling out our very own futures?
Why are we still working with 1970’s technology?
WTF?
There’s nothing wrong with the tech, that is why they are still using it. Building a new engine from scratch is not an easy thing.
NASAs mission, goals, planning, work force, quality, materials etc have all been shrunk or diverted to the point that working with 45 year old stuff is normal, and lucky to get that.
As demands for entitlements increase, funding for NASA (discretionary funding) decreases, even if revenue climbs. All increases go to increased entitlement spending either directly or indirectly (bonuses).
Many here on FR, much of the public, and elected officials see anything space as a waste of funds which (despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary) bring no benefits.
NASA has no new engines in development. There was a recent televised hearing on the Russian RD-180 engine and finding a replacement - there is none and no funds to begin the decade long process. We cannot even afford to reverse engineer the RD-180! (The RD-180 does most of the satellite heavy lifting, has no equal, and is relatively inexpensive.)
Meanwhile, continued US purchases of the engine keep Russian engine designers employed and developing new engines. Our topnotch designers mostly live in retirement homes ... Who wants to be in a profession with no future?