When starting from scratch one can design stuff from the beginning for modern software architecture, modern electronics and sensors, modern materials, modern manufacturing methods like 3D-printing. Making everything that follows, during some years, easy. Upgrading the old only works up to a limit. I think that the space shuttle is too old to build directly upon.

Things like electrically operated valves typically incorporate on-board microcontrollers to handle the low-level control functions with some kind of higher-level command language defined that allows the developers of customized systems to use those components by issuing commands like “Linear open to 30% of maximum flow over an interval of 1.5 seconds” or some such.

This would all be somewhat analogous to the G-code language used to program CNC machine tools. CNC programs tell machines what path the cutter should follow based on straight lines and circular sections, and at what speed, but allows the machine’s control software to translate these “do what” commands into “do how” commands that actually drive the motors.

Automated valve control, to cite just the example used here, is, as a generic function, needed in innumerable places in the chemical, food, beverage, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and many other industries. The infrastructure of a launch facility is just another industrial plant as far as basic functionalities are concerned.

I suspect SpaceX and most everyone else in the launch business uses existing code libraries whererever possible to both minimize development costs and to benefit from the considerable free debugging already done on canned code as the result of the experiences of prior users.

If NASA is developing their ground support software by also using canned code wherever possible as appendages to a custom-coded backbone system, then their overruns and schedule slippages simply reflect a lamentable lack of competence in the software development process. The U.S. government, regrettably, has a long and noisome history of bungling big software development projects (healthcare.gov anyone?). This would just be one more such sad, but typical, story.

If, on the other hand, NASA is really attempting to write all the code in their ground support system from scratch – even down to the microcontroller level – that’s just nuts. It could probably be demonstrated in court to be a matter of actual malfeasance even if it isn’t, technically, corrupt.