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From: jrv@MITRE-BEDFORD.ARPA (James R. Van Zandt)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: 5 YEARS TO REPLACE ORBITER?
Message-ID: <8602090230.AA04619@mitre-bedford.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 8-Feb-86 21:30:35 EST
Article-I.D.: mitre-be.8602090230.AA04619
Posted: Sat Feb  8 21:30:35 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Feb-86 05:48:25 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The MITRE Corp., Bedford, MA
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> * Government procurement takes a minimum of 3 months to buy ANYTHING
> costing more than a few hundred dollars.  Items worth more than a few
> thousand generally take 6 months to a year, and 18 months is not
> unheard of.  This is for stuff that you just get off the shelf.  You
> can imagine the paperwork involved in procuring a shuttle - completely
> independent of the actual construction work.  I would guess two to
> three years of PURE PROCUREMENT DELAY in getting another shuttle. 
> After working as a contractor for NASA for almost 7 years, I know of
> what I speak.

I can't disagree with you.  The longer I work with the government, the
more I wonder...how in &^%$^#@ did we finish the Apollo program so fast?

                                  - Jim Van Zandt