Because in the 21st century that isn’t the mission; it’s only the pretext. The mission is to dine indefinitely at the government trough.

Should we be upset that NASA is spending so much on the mobile launchers? Yes. They are on their second generation of employees, and they should have project management down, by now. I hate to say it, but if NASA management in the 1960s were like it is today, then it is no wonder people think that the lunar landings were a hoax. On the other hand, such a hoax would have taken even better management, too, in order to pull it off without flubbing something simple, important, and obvious.

Is NASA learning any lessons from its experiences with SLS? Why is it that in the 1960s NASA could make a rocket from scratch and land people on the Moon in just over seven years but in the 21st century (think of this as being the future) NASA can’t even do it in 15 years when starting with most of the rocket parts that it needs?

What the hell has Congress done to NASA in the past half century?

Welcome to Obama’s America, land of the formerly competent.

Col Beausabre: I really don’t want these off topic discussions to expand. Repost in the right threat, and quote pzatchok there.

I will then delete both off topic comments

pzatchok: You should repost in the right thread. If you do, then I’ll delete.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65Z8xp6BvzM

and a combat loaded T-72 being killed by a TOW-2B in a test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTZpvKuM7mk

I’d say the Russians may have finally caught up with the combat proven Abrams and its NATO equivalents, Leo 2, Leclerc and Challenger with the T-14. The US is working on its next heavy combat vehicle, with a goal of Initial Operational Capability of 2035 but it may well be autonomous, without a crew on board and controlled remotely.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Generation_Combat_Vehicle

Feel free to delete it if you want.

Initially, it looks like the plan is to finish the one at LC-39A, and then build at least two more at the notional “LC-49” up near County Road 402.

But you’re right, they did buy those two oil rigs, now renamed “Phobos” and “Deimos,” and it looks they might eventually get used to carry some of the launch load. It will be interesting to see how they handle the logistics for those.

I have the sense a lot of this is still in flux.

pzatchok: Did you post this comment in the wrong thread? It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with SLS’s mobile launcher.

Its all gone now.
Subsequently there was a noticeable spike in the radiation levels in Russian scrap recycling yards.

There are widespread reports of Russian military depots for vehicles having been looted to such an extent non of the vehicles are operational let alone combat capable.
Huge amounts that were never maintained or updated.
Modern radios and electronics taken out of those that were updated and they are now missing.

The Russians have not updated their tank designs over the last 40 years. Since the breakup.
They designed the t-72 with an auto-loader to make it faster to reload and cut the crew down to three from four. The problem is it jams often and in some cases even sets off the ammo. If a wrong round is loaded it has to be manually removed by hand. (they normally just fire it anyways if that happens.)
The ammo storage is in the main body of the tank and is many cases if the tank takes even a small penetrating hit the ammo goes off and blows the turret off the vehicle.
They have not fixed this problem in any later tank designs.
And they have not built any later designs in any real numbers.

The Ukraine war is turning out to prove the Russian military is a paper tiger.
By all rights the Ukraine should not have lasted a week. But they still even threaten the Russian Navy.

The Boca Chica pad – including the tank farm and other GSE – basically got underway about a year ago. And there was at least one regulatory delay when it turned out the state would not certify the big tanks for methane, requiring SpaceX to whip up a different methane tank farm, and rebuild the entire berm. It looks to be just about complete. It’s even been used already for prototype fit checks and cryo tests.

Meanwhile at the Cape, SpaceX has teams working nearly round the clock to build a Stage Zero complex at LC-39A, which they only started a few months ago. The launch mount legs and tower base are already assembled, as is a fair part of the tank farm; and over at Roberts Road, they have pre-assembled all but one of the tower sections, including even what looks like most of the plumbling, elevator, and other systems in each one.

And all this for a launch pad which not only launches super heavy lift rockets, but also CATCHES THEM BACK OUT OF THE AIR to relaunch them.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?locations=US

Based on the showing of Putin’s vaunted army in Ukraine, I’d say the Russian taxpayers are the ones being ripped off. The corruption in Russia is notorious – like troops in Ukraine getting sent rations from 2015

“Of the world’s 20 major economies, Russia rates the worst on corruption.

In 2021, the respected Corruption Perceptions Index compiled by anti-corruption body Transparency International scored Russia 29/100, alongside Liberia, Mali and Angola. This made it the 44th most corrupt nation on the index. (South Sudan was most corrupt, scoring 11/100, and Denmark the least corrupt, on 88/100.)”

“Money supposed to be for Russia’s military capability has also been plundered. For example, defence minister Sergei Shoigu lives in an $18 million mansion – not bad for someone supposedly on a government minister’s salary.

A typical rort has been to award contracts to companies owned by cronies, who then provide shoddy products and pocket huge profits. Food and housing in the Russian military is said to be worse than being in prison. Russian soldiers sent to invade Ukraine have been given rations years out of date.

This has created a “Potemkin military” – all show and little substance – according to Andrey Kozyrev, Russia’s foreign minister from 1990 to 1996:

‘The Kremlin spent the last 20 years trying to modernise its military. Much of that budget was stolen and spent on mega-yachts in Cyprus. But as a military advisor you cannot report that to the President. So they reported lies to him instead.’

https://theconversation.com/military-history-is-repeating-for-russia-under-putins-regime-of-thieves-181164

Mitch S: Brilliant. Why didn’t I think of this comparison? It puts the bankruptcy of NASA in perfect perspective.

432 Park Ave, 1396ft residential tower (stuffed with bathrooms, kitchens, elevators, luxury features) in the middle of Manhattan. Took 4 years to build, cost $1.25 billion.
OK, some of the residents say there are some issues (leaks, elevator reliability), but people live inside it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/432_Park_Avenue

How bout something for twice the price of NASA’s towers (but close to their combined cost and taller than their combined height):
The Central Park Tower. Another luxury residential tower, 1550 ft , 5 years from start to top out ( a couple more to finish the interior), $3 billion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_Tower

Both of these built in the middle of one of the most expensive cities, largely by union labor.
Bet some apartments even have gold plated toilets!

“Why throw money away on SLS… probably preempting NASA from supporting development of an alternative…”

It isn’t just a matter of efficiency, IMHO.

Just buy two of the cheaper on time ones.