CNN - INDIA - went to Mars for $74 million

originally posted by: Answer

originally posted by: Xeven

originally posted by: Merinda
India does not have to pay its personnel as handsomely as the US. Also while reaching Mars is quite a feat one would have to look how sophisticated the package is India sent and therefore expensive.

So NASA should contract India to do our future Mars Satellites. Then American companies can either cut cost or die.

NASA can't currently do a "study" of exploration for 75 mil.

SpaceX and companies like it are the future of space exploration. Let NASA work as a consulting agency, put them in charge of mission control, and have the private companies build the equipment and fund the missions.

Let them eat earth observation budget for CIA (Langley) overlords.

a reply to: Answer

The costs are inflated because they know the government is working with an unlimited budget.

NASA has an unlimited budget?

And it’s nuts from the start. NASA’s budget is a pittance compared with pretty much everything else the government does. President Obama’s proposed national budget for 2015 is $3.9 trillion. NASA’s budget is less than half a percent of that (0.45 percent to be more accurate).

www.slate.com...

BTW, you know that NASA uses a competitive bidding process, right? You know that the prime contractors also use competitive bids for their subcontractors, right?
prod.nais.nasa.gov...

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Answer

The costs are inflated because they know the government is working with an unlimited budget.

NASA has an unlimited budget?

And it’s nuts from the start. NASA’s budget is a pittance compared with pretty much everything else the government does. President Obama’s proposed national budget for 2015 is $3.9 trillion. NASA’s budget is less than half a percent of that (0.45 percent to be more accurate).

www.slate.com...

BTW, you know that NASA uses a competitive bidding process, right? You know that the prime contractors also use competitive bids for their subcontractors, right?
prod.nais.nasa.gov...

I'm aware. That does not stop contractors from over-inflating their costs.

a reply to: Answer

Do you know what a competitive bid is? It's a competition to provide a service or product at the lowest price. Over inflating does not win a bid.

Do you know what a budget is? It's where, when you spend all your money, you don't have any more.

a reply to: Phage

I shouldn't say this but I worked for a company that bid some NASA jobs @10 years ago. It was sub-sub-sub contracts for unspecific metal work.
My boss made me start a fake company and along with his brothers similar company, we could throw 3-6 individual bids covering all ranges of pricing for the same job. When I watched my boss handcuffed and walk-of-shamed out the office by the FBI, I decided it was time to quit. Sucked too, I was making way more money then I should have been and I played solitare 20 hours a week doing it. If only ATS existed back then. . .

But he made quite a lot of money using the old change order, not in contract switcheroo. I can only assume many others do this also inflating costs sometimes 150%.

Don't tell anyone!

a reply to: AnteBellum
Your boss deserved to go to prison.

I know about change orders. Most contracts specify a fixed markup for COs and require the documentation to back it up. Inflating CO prices is just as illegal as producing dummy bids.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Answer


Do you know what a budget is? It's where, when you spend all your money, you don't have any more.

I'll need you to talk to my wife.

a reply to: Phage

Especially when your clients have time constraints that will cost them more then the change order itself. The key was knowing how much it would hurt them and upcharge for rush accordingly, all legal.

I was really good at being bad, my office always had too much work. From contractor payoffs to outsourcing work done by illegals in a garage. I learned the construction trade from the worst possible source, at the start of my career, lol.

Sad actually looking back at it, he never went to prison or was even technically arrested, go figure. He owned millions in property, cheated on his wife while I covered(not with me) and held an army of illegals hostage by renting his property to them, paying them nothing, even paying for their family to fly over from Mexico to join the force and make minimum wage. I could sit here and talk for hours about the illegal things I had to do and witnessed as Presidential Assistant for this creep. My only consulation is I learned from the experience what to look out for as an architect later on.

No one likes a bad ending. . .

2008 bubble burst work became all but non existent, wife with 2 kids divorced him and got more then half his estate. Became paranoid when it was later found his payroll manager milked the company for thousands. Fired all the 'good' staff due to suspicion. Lost custody of children when the people he fired went to the IRS. There cleaning up what's left, as only they can.

a reply to: Phage

Why do you think Microsoft call centers are in India?

You have being getting those calls as well? i phoned Microsoft support there reply was this.

We Don't have Microsoft Support Call Centers in India or anywhere Else We Would Never Call our Product Users for such claims, i am sorry sir but that was an hoax call.

a reply to: Agent_USA_Supporter

I tell them I use a Mac and how can my Mac be reporting errors to Microsoft.

originally posted by: angkory13
You are missing the point. Why so cheap? It's hindu magic, or corruption sends the costs of west world projects to stratosphere? a reply to: intrptr

Definitely - "..corruption sends the costs of west world projects to stratosphere."

originally posted by: Phage
Why do you think Microsoft call centers are in India?

For the record. There's a scam going on since forever where some Indians call you claiming to be from windows services (not actually Microsoft) and your computer apparently has a virus. For the low low price of 200 dollars they can "fix" it by putting Trojans on your system.

Tell them if they call you again the FBI will be tracking them and the calls will stop for a while.