In article ,
Henry Spencer wrote:
X-33 was a management disaster from beginning to end. X-34 wasn't
much better.

I agree with this example and I especially like your choice of words.
X-33 was a management disaster *from the beginning*. When things go
wrong from the beginning, it often means that the whole purpose of
the project is wrong. In this case the mandate was RLV/SSTO, which is
another bad idea.

If not strictly part of manned spaceflight, RLV/SSTO is certainly
associated with it. The thinking is that space travel is kind-of like
jet travel, only a little fancier. It's not true of course.
--
/\ Greg Kuperberg (UC Davis)
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