Bill Clark wrote:

Despite all its human flaws, the "NASA culture" has a strong can-do,
will-do attitude that makes it possible for them to achieve what
organizations ten times their size cannot. This sets a very bad
standard for industry, giving the shareholders and investors a high
expectation of their capabilities. Without the shining example of
NASA, industry can plod along and people are perfectly content with
shoddy products, nominal innovation, high prices, and poor customer
support. I would even go so far as to say that the aerospace industry
was to blame for the Challenger disaster, not NASA employees.
Industry has motive, the employees do not.


Behold the Nicene Creed of NASA.
You give pretty much any major company in the United States around
1/200th of the total national budget (over 15 _billion_ dollars in FY
2004) to work with, and I think you will be downright amazed with what
they will accomplish.

Pat