>>12743284>>12742276The real, non-joke answer:
• For reasons I won't get in to, the Space Shuttle program ended up costing a fuck ton - but more importantly - it ended up creating jobs in just about every state
• At the same time, understand that NASA must always appear before Congress and say "may we have money pls? This is what we want to do. This is how much money we would need this year to do it. Th- thank you". Now Congress is very stingy about giving NASA money. But when it comes to "bloated" shit like Shuttle, congress almost unanimously agrees to fund it because it creates more jobs in their states
• Fast forward to 2012-ish. Shuttle program comes to an end. NASA now wants to go to the Moon. They know they can build an upgraded Saturn V, but they know Congress won't give them shit for it. If they instead build a "shuttle-derived" rocket, they will keep all the same people employed, Congress will stay happy, and Congress will give them the money for the shitty rocket and gateway and landers all as one package.
• For some fucking stupid reason NASA decided to go with cost-plus contracting though, meaning that Boeing (who is building the SLS) is under no obligation to meet time tables, and is in fact given MORE money if they ask for it.
JPL is a completely different story. JPL is filled with based autists who love what they do, and could build a spacecraft for $2, $20, or $200 mil. They basically just get told what the mission needs to be and they make it happen with an allotted budget.
