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That's the point. Everyone hammers NASA and sings the praises of "private industry". Well, in this business, there is no guarantee that either won't screw up. You think cheap, you'll get cheap. You think small, and you'll be small. Maybe I just don't buy into this "private industry is God" that FReepers are seemingly prone to. I'm not sure private companies will do any better or worse than the government. It takes good people and a willingness to go the extra mile that will make the difference. Laziness and incompetence won't cut it. I've seen both kinds of people, in industry and government. The results are usually the same in either case.

Maybe I just don't buy into this "private industry is God" that FReepers are seemingly prone to.

Neither do I. But if I was in charge, and an idea for a next generation space ship was brought to me, and I was told, "By the way, we can't launch in the rain.", I'd have laughed them right out the door!

"Everyone hammers NASA and sings the praises of "private industry". Well, in this business, there is no guarantee that either won't screw up."

you're right, of course. NASA should be more of a funding vehicle, in my opinion. Set the goals that need to be accomplished, and fund the ones that have the most promise.

If NASA were completely gutted, I think we could make a lot more progress (provided the budget was not re-allocated).

From a political view, I think NASA leadership is insane for admitting that the shuttle and space stations are failures......but maybe they've got an angle that we just can't see to get more money.

In private industry, management mistakes affect the investor and employees, and yes the management. Most feel sorry for employees laid off because of bad management decisions, and more than a few people feel those bad corporate decisions when their mutual fund tanks, but few have any sympathy for managers that screw up.

In government programs, management mistakes affect the taxpayers and government dependents, but rarely does it affect those government decision makers that screwed up.

If you can't feel sorry for the taxpayer, I would at least think that you could feel sorry for those dependent on the government that are hurt by bad management that seems the norm rather than the exception in government.

The lesson is that private industry rewards success and punishes failure (not necessarily evenly), but the government nearly always rewards failure (by allocating more funds to fix the problem) and punishes success (project managers that don't use all of their allocated funds or finish their tasks within a fiscal year have their budgets for the next year reduced.)