Aucbvax.5105
fa.space
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!space
Wed Nov 11 03:26:54 1981
SPACE Digest V2 #31
>From OTA@S1-A Wed Nov 11 02:49:29 1981

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 2 : Issue 31

Today's Topics:
			   Yet another scenario
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Date: 10 Nov 1981 12:26:22-PST
From: decvax!duke!unc!smb at Berkeley
In-real-life: Steven M. Bellovin
To: decvax!duke!unc!space@Berkeley
Subject: Yet another scenario

Consider the following scenario:

	NASA decides to turn shuttle operations over to a private firm,
	McDouglas Aircraft, even though the bids are unexpectedly
	high.  The program limps along for two years, getting a fair
	amount of foregin business, but with McDouglas constantly
	asking for even more money.  They claim to be developing an
	even better booster with engines made by another company.  The
	engines are delayed, and the resulting losses drives McDouglas
	to bankruptcy.  They appeal for government loan guarantees,
	citing the importance of the shuttle to the country.  During
	Congressional hearings, it turns out that they won the original
	contract by engaging in bid-rigging, and most of their foreign
	business came from paying off government officials.  In the
	meantime, a private firm is testing a new competitive fuel
	technology; unfortunately, there is a malfunction and an
	explosion.  The town they're located in is severely damaged,
	and several residents are killed by the fumes.  McDouglas's
	other competitor has developed a reasonable booster, but most
	of their funding has come from Libya.  The effect of all these
	problems is a tremendous public outcry, resulting in a halt to
	most space-related projects in the U.S.

Unlikely?  I submit it's no more unlikely than the previous scenarios,
and every incident I've mentioned is drawn directly from something
that has happened in the aerospace industry recently.  Let's move the
rest of this discussion to POLI-SCI where it belongs.

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End of SPACE Digest
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