What is the opportunity cost associated with NASA developing proprietary, bespoke hardware for exploration?

Dollars that cannot be spent on deep-space science or astronaut training.

Viewing the fiscal divergence through the lens of opportunity cost reveals the trade-off inherent in government development versus contracting out. When NASA allocates significant taxpayer funding toward developing its own proprietary, highly specialized hardware systems—an approach often involving longer timelines—those specific funds are necessarily diverted away from other crucial mandates. This means that every dollar spent on bespoke hardware development is a dollar that cannot simultaneously be invested in funding pure deep-space scientific research, operating complex telescopes, or supporting essential astronaut training programs.