ABSTRACT
Traditionally the role of the political system has been to deliver the funds needed to carry out the vision of space exploration: Mission design was specified first and then costs were determined by the amount of money needed to achieve the desired design. Traditionally the role of the political system has been to deliver the funds needed to carry out the vision of space exploration: Mission design was specified first and then costs were determined by the amount of money needed to achieve the desired design. The fact that the Shuttle is a great technical success and copied by the Soviets is less important than whether users believe that it can take their payloads into space reliably and efficiently, compared to the alternatives. More recently National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics space science advisory committee has recommended more emphasis on small missions. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
