SBIRS is just one of many major military space procurments that have run into cost, schedule, and other problems in recent years. (credit: Lockheed Martin)From The Space Review:
NASA gets a lot of criticism, for cost overruns, launch delays, and technical failings. Some of this is certainly justified. But some of it is the product of the fact that NASA embodies the spiritual hopes of an activist community that believes humanity’s destiny is among the stars and considers many NASA actions heretical. However, NASA is a model of efficiency and good government when compared to the American military and intelligence space programs, which have been in turmoil for a decade or more. Despite the fact that our security depends upon them, there is little public outcry of the fact that, as many Defense officials and others concede, the military and intelligence space programs are a total mess.
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