Lockheed Chooses NASA

No, I didn't screw that title up, however Lockheed did choose NASA to screw. Lockheed Martin was contracted to royally shit on NASA and make for them the Next Generation Space Shuttle, or the Orion [pile of metal - i.e. - Spaceship].

The Orion program is suppose to replace the shuttle, after the ISS is completely built. It's also suppose to take man to the moon, and possibly to Mars. So, once they get to the Moon they are going to turn around and look at their spaceship well let's possibly go to Mars now. Eh...right, great set of guidelines there.

Commentators like the Time Magazine say that this is the first real right choice NASA has made. Well that may be all fine and dandy but when they back up their claim of rightness by saying this:

Lockheed Martin was a good choice for a few reasons. First of all, a NASA contract can be the sweetest of government plums. The projects can go on for decades (look at the 30-year shuttle program) and cost overruns are usually tolerated and even expected. That may not do the federal deficit any favors, but a company that can score a $2 billion deal and know full well that it may turn into $3 billion by the end of the contract term is a company with a lot of happy shareholders. Lockheed Martin has not shared much in the manned space program goodies lately—the big deals historically going to Boeing and Northrop Grumman and it's healthy for the industry if the wealth gets spread.

Thrightnessess claim kinda flounders when you say that Lockheed Martin will be making boat loads of dollars. Tell me, how his that good for NASA again? Well actually don't tell me because TIME Magazine couldn't explain anything worth a dime, nay, a penny.

You may be asking what did Lockheed do? Well they were the ones to build the previous shuttle replacement, the X-33. You don't see that flying do you? One would think that NASA would learn from their mistakes, but no, sadly no. All that came out of that program/contract was a whole lot of nothing, backed up by the PR guys with "oh we learned a lot from that program that we can place to other [non-existent] programs." All they learned was that it was too hard to build another space shuttle, so it's better to give up...

Ahh well, what can you 'legally' do to stupid people but call them stupid. In any case if ever offered a job at Lockheed Martin, consider my statements void :D