[chimera]

This is great! It opens the doors to NASA buying other space services from our own private sector.

They do that already. They're called "contractors". The work I've done for NASA over the years has been as a subcontractor for a prime contractor. All private-sector employers. Grumman (a private company) built the lunar module for NASA's Apollo program as a contractor. North American has had a lot of work. Rocketdyne has been a contractor. So has General Electric and General Dynamics. Private companies all.

People here need to get off of their "government workers" high horse. Much, if not most, of the work done in these programs is contracted to the private sector.

[Dan Evans]

Much, if not most, of the work done in these programs is contracted to the private sector.

The problem is, government calls the shots and decides what is to be built. If they say "build a white elephant", the private sector will build the best white elephant money can buy.

The other problem is that, more and more, the government sets all kinds of conditions for contractors. They have to employ the correct percentage of women and minorities, they have to be sensitive to environmental correctness. And all of these things adversely affect safety.

[TalonDJ]

They do that already. They're called "contractors".

Yes but it is done under the direct (mostly) control of the NASA bureaucracy. One of the guys I work with use to do that stuff with the branch of our company that does that in Huston. The way NASA subs stuff out to contractors and the way the will be 'buying' a space mission from Russian are two very different things. The difference is pay for odd jobs done on a ship or pay for the whole mission being complete. With the later the company can try to find ways to innovate and save money. With the former it is more like corporate welfare. The get their money by doing to same old same old and have zero incentive to do things better/faster/cheaper. I am talking specifically about the companies the support shuttle launches which is where most of NASA's money is going these days.