JF Mezei wrote:

On 2018-02-17 10:03, Fred J. McCall wrote:
As long as there is money in the
budget to support SLS NASA can use some of that money to exercise the
option on the existing contract.


My original assertion was that Congress could kill SLS before NASA goes
to confirm actual order for building of new SSMEs. Your response was
that the money had already been allcated/gartanteed and that NASA would
get the new engines.


I said no such thing. Have you learned a new skill of not being able
to read to go with your usual skill of not being able to remember,
Mayfly?


The text of the press releases confirm that while funding of just over 1
billion was made to allow Rocketdyne to rebuild the tooling, fine tune
contruction to reduce costs and refurb the 16 SSMEs into RL25 engines,
it clearly states that production of totally new engines will be on
separate contract.


Uh, no. Again, learn the difference between a 'new contract' and a
'contract action on an existing contract'.


Think of it as a firm order for 0 engines, with option for 6 more. The
firm order pays for design/improvements/tooling. But to convert the
options, you need a new contract and negitiate price at that point based
on all the cost reductiosn Rocketdyne will have been able to make during
first phase.


No, you don't. If the current contract includes an option for 6
(actually 7) engines you don't need a new contract to exercise that
option. You just need to apply funding to that line.


--
"Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the
truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong."
-- Thomas Jefferson