Government Efficiency (3 Viewers)

[RobF]

I think this topic deserves its own thread, both to discuss generally the topic of government efficiency, and specifically the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency' and the incoming Trump administration's aims to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies".

The announcements have been covered in the The Trump Cabinet and key post thread, but to recap, Trump has announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will work together on a not-actually-an-official-government-Department of Government Efficiency, which is intended to work with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to "drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before," with the 'Department' to conclude its work "no later than July 4, 2026."

Musk has previously said that the federal budget could be reduced by "at least $2 trillion", and Ramaswarmy, during his presidential campaign, said he would fire more than 75% of the federal work force and disband agencies including the Department of Education and the FBI.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Nearly 4,000 employees, or more than 20% of NASA's workforce, have applied to leave the agency, NASA confirmed to CBS News Friday.

About 3,870 employees have applied to depart NASA over two rounds through the Trump administration's deferred resignation program, NASA disclosed.

The deadline for applications to the program is midnight Friday.

With those deferred resignations, NASA's civil servant workforce would shrink from about 18,000 to 14,000 personnel. This figure also includes about 500 employees who were lost through normal attrition, the agency said.

"Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars," NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner said in a statement.

According to NASA, about 870 employees applied to leave during the first round of the Deferred Resignation Program, and about 3,000 employees during the second round.

The deferred resignation program was a buyout program introduced across the federal government by the White House's Department of Government Efficiency at the onset of the Trump administration in an effort to slash costs and reduce the size of the federal workforce.

A White House budget proposal issued in May would see NASA's funding cut by about 25% for fiscal year 2026, from about $24 billion to $18 billion.

NASA has also been roiled by a leadership crisis in recent months. In December, President Trump nominated billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, a friend of former DOGE head Elon Musk, to serve as NASA's next administrator. Musk's SpaceX has several NASA contracts.…….

More than 20% of NASA's workforce requests to leave agency

About 3,870 employees have applied to depart NASA over two rounds through the Trump administration's deferred resignation program, the agency disclosed.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Sendai]

Nearly 4,000 employees, or more than 20% of NASA's workforce, have applied to leave the agency, NASA confirmed to CBS News Friday.

About 3,870 employees have applied to depart NASA over two rounds through the Trump administration's deferred resignation program, NASA disclosed.

The deadline for applications to the program is midnight Friday.

With those deferred resignations, NASA's civil servant workforce would shrink from about 18,000 to 14,000 personnel. This figure also includes about 500 employees who were lost through normal attrition, the agency said.

"Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars," NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner said in a statement.

According to NASA, about 870 employees applied to leave during the first round of the Deferred Resignation Program, and about 3,000 employees during the second round.

The deferred resignation program was a buyout program introduced across the federal government by the White House's Department of Government Efficiency at the onset of the Trump administration in an effort to slash costs and reduce the size of the federal workforce.

A White House budget proposal issued in May would see NASA's funding cut by about 25% for fiscal year 2026, from about $24 billion to $18 billion.

NASA has also been roiled by a leadership crisis in recent months. In December, President Trump nominated billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, a friend of former DOGE head Elon Musk, to serve as NASA's next administrator. Musk's SpaceX has several NASA contracts.…….

More than 20% of NASA's workforce requests to leave agency

About 3,870 employees have applied to depart NASA over two rounds through the Trump administration's deferred resignation program, the agency disclosed.

www.cbsnews.com

Wonder how many will end up at Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Spacex, etc., etc.

 

[MT15]

Privatizing our space program is shortsighted and just plain ignorant.

 

[SamAndreas]

Wonder how many will end up at Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Spacex, etc., etc.

My guess is that most of them will wind up there. They're a pretty conservative lot, as are most Air Force Officers, where a batch of them came from to join NASA in the first place.

 

[SamAndreas]

Privatizing our space program is shortsighted and just plain ignorant.

Quintessence on just plain Ignorance.

 

[Sendai]

Privatizing our space program is shortsighted and just plain ignorant.

And yet incredibly productive, incredibly advanced, and incredible development speed.

 

[Dragon]

And yet incredibly productive, incredibly advanced, and incredible development speed.

How many times has Musk businesses had to recall products due to the "incredible development speed" which basically is "winging it and hope it doesn't destroy something or in worst case - kill someone"?

And he did not start from scratch. Much of his technology is build on old and tested Nasa science.

 

[MT15]

And yet incredibly productive, incredibly advanced, and incredible development speed.

You couldn’t be more wrong about this than you are. Just incredible. When you try to privatize what is essentially basic scientific inquiry you get watered down, profit motivated science. You also build in incentives to go quickly over doing the necessary checks and trials.

NASA did incredible feats with less computing power than we all carry around in our pockets. The benefits that society reaped due to them following the science instead of looking for profits are legion.

I cannot stand people who are just fanboys of tech even when we see how the giant tech corporations are harming our society. Tesla has a horrible safety record. The various rocket companies have been less than impressive. Just stop fanboying and look at things with a critical eye. Use some judgement.

 

[Sendai]

You couldn’t be more wrong about this than you are. Just incredible. When you try to privatize what is essentially basic scientific inquiry you get watered down, profit motivated science. You also build in incentives to go quickly over doing the necessary checks and trials.

NASA did incredible feats with less computing power than we all carry around in our pockets. The benefits that society reaped due to them following the science instead of looking for profits are legion.

I cannot stand people who are just fanboys of tech even when we see how the giant tech corporations are harming our society. Tesla has a horrible safety record. The various rocket companies have been less than impressive. Just stop fanboying and look at things with a critical eye. Use some judgement.

“An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA”

An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA

Dear readers,

qz.com

Raptor engine evolution

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starship-spacex/images/6/6a/Raptor-engines-Variants-06-April-2024-SpaceX-Twitter.png/revision/latest?cb=20240407183309

Statistics - SpaceXNow

Get detailed SpaceX launch statistics, including success rates, payload data, and turnaround records. Get insights into Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Starship and SpaceX’s record-breaking achievements.

spacexnow.com

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

And yet incredibly productive, incredibly advanced, and incredible development speed.

Name a the advancements in the space industry that are based solely on private sector R&D and have been field tested to be consistently safe and reliable.

Musk's flagship rocket tested well a few times early on. It has been a consistent and catastrophic failure since those early tests.

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

“An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA”

An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA

Dear readers,

qz.com

Apparently, not only do you not think or speak for yourself, but you also don't read for yourself past the headline.

The Oxford Study does not anywhere in it claim or conclude that "SpaceX is more efficient than NASA." It doesn't say anything close to that.

I challenged you to prove me wrong by quoting directly from the Oxford study were it states, "SpaceX is more efficient than NASA." You are quoting from an obvious very biased, propaganda piece who makes false claims about what the Oxford Study says.

It's immoral to be willfully ignorant and/or intentionally deceitful.

 

[RobF]

“An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA”

An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA

Dear readers,

qz.com

*Clicks on link*

"Notably, they insist this isn’t a public-private distinction."

So even if you took the 2022 paper at face value - and you should not - it would specifically and explicitly still not be an argument for privatisation.

Actually-Man strikes again!

 

[Dragon]

“An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA”

An Oxford case study explains why SpaceX is more efficient than NASA

Dear readers,

qz.com

Raptor engine evolution

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starship-spacex/images/6/6a/Raptor-engines-Variants-06-April-2024-SpaceX-Twitter.png/revision/latest?cb=20240407183309

That case study leaves out critical context. SpaceX only moves fast today because NASA spent decades solving the hardest problems first—at enormous cost and risk. Platform strategies like SpaceX’s weren’t even possible back then, and while efficient, they often cut safety margins to stay on schedule. Comparing the two without acknowledging that is misleading.

You can’t modularize unknowns. In the 1960s and ’70s, even basic questions about space were unanswered. Trial and error wasn’t inefficiency—it was the only option.

The platform model prioritizes rapid iteration and hitting commercial deadlines. That’s great for cost—but it also creates incentives to cut corners or downplay risk. Several internal and external reports have raised concerns about SpaceX’s safety practices, especially under launch pressure.

There’s a real risk in handing over space exploration to private companies—especially ones led by individuals like Musk, who’ve openly threatened to withhold services or technology for political or personal gain. Space should serve the public good, not become a playground for billionaires or a bargaining chip in private power struggles.

 

[Sendai]

Privatization

SpaceX plans to launch this space station. It looks futuristic.

A new habitat in Earth's orbit.

mashable.com

Vast signs three more payload partners for Haven-1

Commercial space station developer Vast has signed three more payload customers for its Haven-1 station set to launch in a little more than a year.

spacenews.com

https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/ebot_us_private_space_launch_industry_is_out_of_this_world.pdf

 

[Dragon]

Privatization

SpaceX plans to launch this space station. It looks futuristic.

A new habitat in Earth's orbit.

mashable.com

Vast signs three more payload partners for Haven-1

Commercial space station developer Vast has signed three more payload customers for its Haven-1 station set to launch in a little more than a year.

spacenews.com

Musk always have a lot of "plans" Notice the dates...

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/27/elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony


And who is going to hold all those private space companies responsible when/if spacejunk starts to fall from the sky? And do we really want private companies to decide the future of Earths space access and exploration. What could ever go wrong with that ???

Starlink plans up to 42,000 satellites; over 6,000 are already in orbit as of mid-2025. This vastly increases the risk of collisions with spacecraft or other satellites, especially in low Earth orbit (LEO), which is getting crowded. In 2019, ESA had to manually move a satellite to avoid a potential Starlink collision. Then there is a possible Kessler Syndrome chain reaction where a collision creates debris that causes more collisions. The number Starlink satelites currently and planed in orbit increases the chance of triggering such a catastrophic chain reaction.

 

[MT15]

Privatization

SpaceX plans to launch this space station. It looks futuristic.

A new habitat in Earth's orbit.

mashable.com

Vast signs three more payload partners for Haven-1

Commercial space station developer Vast has signed three more payload customers for its Haven-1 station set to launch in a little more than a year.

spacenews.com

https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/executive_briefings/ebot_us_private_space_launch_industry_is_out_of_this_world.pdf

It’s really, really sad that you are so hoodwinked by someone who is essentially a snake oil salesman. Musk got damn lucky and made a lot of money, and now he thinks he’s some sort of genius. But he has never had a problem with overpromising and underperforming. And what’s worse, he has never had a problem with glossing over safety issues and concealing safety problems, even if people die as a result.

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

Privatization

Examples of privatization? Yes.

Examples of privatization being inherently superior to government management? Not at all.

 

[MT15]

Musk always have a lot of "plans" Notice the dates...

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/27/elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony


And who is going to hold all those private space companies responsible when/if spacejunk starts to fall from the sky? And do we really want private companies to decide the future of Earths space access and exploration. What could ever go wrong with that ???

Starlink plans up to 42,000 satellites; over 6,000 are already in orbit as of mid-2025. This vastly increases the risk of collisions with spacecraft or other satellites, especially in low Earth orbit (LEO), which is getting crowded. In 2019, ESA had to manually move a satellite to avoid a potential Starlink collision. Then there is a possible Kessler Syndrome chain reaction where a collision creates debris that causes more collisions. The number Starlink satelites currently and planed in orbit increases the chance of triggering such a catastrophic chain reaction.

My son teaches college level astronomy and physics. We hadn’t ever discussed Musk, so about a year ago I asked him what physicists thought of Musk, in his experience. His opinion of Musk is very low, and he feels like that is the prevailing view among physicists. Just another narcissistic arse wipe.