🚀 go-pugleaf

>NASA is chartered as a research organization, not an operational agency.
>Shuttle is operations, not research.

    Shuttle is the only manned system we have, so it is in large part
    still a research article. I agree, however, that operations is
    the major part of the Shuttle system.

>>Pegasus as a current example of the effect of optimistic development
>>scheduling. That causes financial problems for a commercial venture
>>that government agencies can shrug off.
>
>However, DCX is on budget and has slipped very little (30 days in a three
>year contract). It looks like these guys know more than you about how
>do schedule launcher development.

    As Gary and I pointed out, Pegasus really started slipping after
    maiden flight... about eighteen months between flights 2 and 3, to
    be precise. That DC-X has slipped little prior to maiden flight is
    a good sign, but hardly justifies such smugness. 

    -Brian
    
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Brian S. Thorn                                    "If ignorance is bliss,
BrianT@cup.portal.com                               this must be heaven."
                                                -Diane Chambers, "Cheers"
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