05-27-2017, 02:53 AM
Racer X wrote:
Many of the companies that were suppliers and subcontractors to NASA back in the day no longer have the expertise or talent to build those parts to the original specs. Tooling scrapped, talent retired, EPA preventing those processes, etc. And I know of a number of instances where the supplier said they refused to work on a NASA project again.
Lots of times it is a $150 part and 5 grand for the paperwork. Many no longer want to deal with the assinine process.
The mars probe that landed in '97 was launched with a thruster built in the early '70s. It was sitting unused in a cardboard box, under the workbench in an engineer's garage. They brought it in to work, cleaned it off, and it worked fine. Same for a '70s prototype pulsed plasma thruster, and an ion thruster.
Private industry doesn't make money on this one off crap. Those that participated did it for the publicity.
Very cool stories.