Biden should back NASA projects
Astronomical costs
Regarding “Biden will inherit a mess at NASA,” (Dec. 30): Adam Minter argues for fixed-price contracts to complete the SLS rocket and Orion capsule. Of course, fixed price is no panacea for completion of one- of-a-kind projects. Even expensive airframes are developed on a cost basis, then cloned at a fixed price because there will be hundreds built the same way. There won’t be a fleet of SLS rockets for launching a fleet of Orions. NASA has already given over the “fleet” market to commercial companies. So NASA either has to finish SLS and Orion in their current mode or cancel it. Changing contractors isn’t a solution for cost either as anyone who has had to switch out a contractor mid-project can document.
Walt Lind, Nassau Bay
The op- ed was a mile wide, a millimeter deep, and a rehash of past policies and opinions.
Space projects are not airlines. The vehicles are either one and done or limited to a small number of reuses. This means that the overhead costs are huge. Consider how much an airline ticket would go up if the airplane for the one trip was dismantled or sent back to rework after the one flight.
Private firms must pay their workers every week, not just when there is a launch. NASA would dearly love a system whereby they could go to the local Starbucks and hire out only the engineers needed for that day, and at day-labor prices generated by intense competition.
What the space program really needs is consistent funding.
As a final note, it took nine years to wean the U.S. space program from Russian rockets, about the same amount of time that it took to go from Saturn moon launches to regular space shuttle launches. In both cases, there was a massive loss of trade secrets and technology transfer that required reinventing the space wheel.
James A. Babb, Friendswood
Drone dilemmas
Regarding “FAA outlines new rules for drones and their operators,” (Dec. 29): I’m glad that the government will have requirements for drones depending on their size, where they will be allowed to fly, how high they will be allowed to fly, etc. The requirement that they will have to broadcast a radio signal to allow tracking is an excellent idea, but how will this, as well as the other requirements, be enforced? I know essentially nothing about the electronics on a drone, but I think that the radio broadcasting of a drone’s location could be disabled by a knowledgeable person. Unless the lack of these controls will prevent a drone from flying, malefactors can put all of us at risk, as is being done in the Middle East now.
Philip R. Petersen, League City