What strategic goal allowed NASA to focus its resources away from daily launch operations?
Answer
Allowing private contractors to manage transportation, enabling NASA to focus on research and deep-space exploration.
The structured shift toward commercial acquisition was deliberately designed to change NASA's primary operational focus. By contracting fixed-price services where the private contractor manages the development, certification, and daily launch operations, NASA strategically offloaded the logistical burden of routine access to low-Earth orbit. This freed up agency resources, funding, and personnel to concentrate on more ambitious, future-oriented endeavors, most notably deep-space exploration objectives like the Artemis program.
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