🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec22.160715.28828@iti.org> aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) writes:
>In article <71877@cup.portal.com> BrianT@cup.portal.com (Brian Stuart Thorn) writes:
>
>>>NASA spends over a billion dollars on each Space Shuttle flight. I think
>>>you've indulged in some creative accounting.
>
>> The Space Transportation budget this year was about $5 billion, if
>> memory serves. NASA flew 8 Shuttle missions this year. 
>
>This number does not include NASA overhead, amortization of the orbiter,
>amortization of Shuttle development costs, and a host of other costs. Adding
>those in puts the cost at well over a billion per flight. Hell, interest
>costs on development alone adds over a quarter billion per flight (BTW,
>this interest is not a sunk cost since it is part of the national debt and
>we are paying for it even now).
>
>>You have done the 'creative accounting' here, I'd say. 
>
>No, it's NASA who is being creative by ignoring billions in cost. BTW,
>if a private company ran their books the way NASA does they would be
>thrown in jail for fraud.

This is a tired argument. NASA is not a private company, is not chartered
to work like a private company, and is tasked with missions no private
company will undertake. It's customer is the US taxpayer and that customer
wanted R&D work done on a reusable Shuttle. NASA did it, and the customer
paid for it. Now the customer wants payloads launched into space using
existing hardware, NASA does it, and the customer pays for it. The customer's
Mastercard balance doesn't enter into the equation unless he defaults 
payment.

Gary
-- 
Gary Coffman KE4ZV          |    You make it,     | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems |    we break it.     | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
534 Shannon Way             |    Guaranteed!      | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary      
Lawrenceville, GA 30244     |                     | emory!ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu