--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The costs of badly-run NASA projects are…" description: "\"The costs of badly-run NASA projects are paid for with cutbacks or delays in NASA projects that didn't go over budget. Hence the guilty are rewarded an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/alan-stern-5283_budget_the-costs-of-badly-run-nasa-projects-are_1731561.png" --- # The costs of badly-run NASA projects are paid for with… ![“The costs of badly-run NASA projects are paid for with cutbacks or delays in NASA projects that didn't go over budget. Hence the guilty are rewarded and the innocent are punished.” quote by Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/alan-stern-5283_budget_the-costs-of-badly-run-nasa-projects-are_1731561.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/alan-stern-5283_budget_the-costs-of-badly-run-nasa-projects-are_1731561.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/alan-stern-5283_budget_the-costs-of-badly-run-nasa-projects-are_1731561.png) > “The costs of badly-run NASA projects are paid for with cutbacks or delays in NASA projects that didn't go over budget. Hence the guilty are rewarded and the innocent are punished.” [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mismanaged NASA projects cause budget cuts that punish well‑run projects, rewarding inefficiency. **In simple terms:** Bad NASA projects hurt good ones financially. Key Takeaway Improve project management to protect all missions. Themes budgeting project management organizational accountability Mood critical strategic Type administrative policy When to use this quote - space missions - government funding - program evaluation Key Concepts resource allocation risk assessment policy oversight Questions to Reflect On - How can NASA better allocate resources? - What safeguards prevent waste? A Different Perspective Complexities of large agencies may be oversimplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Budget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budget/) [Budget Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budget-guilty-1434636/) [Delays Nasa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delays-nasa-1434634/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Guilty Rewarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty-rewarded-1434637/) [Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent/) [Innocent Punished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent-punished-429391/) [NASA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nasa/) [Rewarded Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewarded-innocent-1434635/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [ Censure pardons the ravens but rebukes the doves. \[The innocent are punished and the wicked escape.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/censure-pardons-the-ravens-but-rebukes-the-doves-the-innocent-are/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [The innocent are punished. That's the world we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-hanif/the-innocent-are-punished-that-s-the-world-we-live-in/) [Mohammed Hanif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-hanif/) > [In God's pattern of justice, He takes the risk of the guilty going free but not the innocent being punished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/in-god-s-pattern-of-justice-he-takes-the-risk-of-the-guilty-going/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [There was a time when Pluto - which NASA's New Horizons spacecraft at last explored in 2015, a mission I led - was considered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/there-was-a-time-when-pluto-which-nasa-s-new-horizons-spacecraft-at/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [As a scientist in charge of space sensors and entire space missions before I was at NASA, I myself was involved in projects that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/as-a-scientist-in-charge-of-space-sensors-and-entire-space-missions/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [It is only by freeing NASA from routine human transport to low-Earth orbit that we can afford to once again see American astronauts exploring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-is-only-by-freeing-nasa-from-routine-human-transport-to-low-earth/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [When I started working with NASA in 1989 as part of a mission to send spacecraft to Pluto, I knew it would take at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/when-i-started-working-with-nasa-in-1989-as-part-of-a-mission-to-send/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Are governments the only entities that can build human spacecraft? No - actually, every human spacecraft ever built for NASA was built by private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/are-governments-the-only-entities-that-can-build-human-spacecraft-no/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [NASA should not be developing its own proprietary version of capabilities it could purchase commercially at much lower cost, especially when we know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/nasa-should-not-be-developing-its-own-proprietary-version-of/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [There's been a lot of discussion about NASA culture and changing that. I think our culture has always been one of trying to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kelly/there-s-been-a-lot-of-discussion-about-nasa-culture-and-changing-that/) [Mark Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kelly/) > [If we gutted NASA Earth Science, it wouldn't be NOAA or some other agency that would take the lead. It would be the Chinese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/if-we-gutted-nasa-earth-science-it-wouldn-t-be-noaa-or-some-other/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [NASA is developing space taxis to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station. And just like New York taxis, they're all going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/nasa-is-developing-space-taxis-to-shuttle-astronauts-to-the/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [But, when it comes to global warming, the public- at-large really doesn't know whom to believe anymore. And NASA has contributed to that confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/but-when-it-comes-to-global-warming-the-public-at-large-really-doesn/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [In 1966, NASA took over in space, and it has been a bureaucratic mess ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-yeager/in-1966-nasa-took-over-in-space-and-it-has-been-a-bureaucratic-mess/) [Chuck Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-yeager/) > [I'm absolutely compelled for NASA to send international astronauts to Mars to find out if Mars ever harbored life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-grunsfeld/i-m-absolutely-compelled-for-nasa-to-send-international-astronauts-to/) [John M. Grunsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-grunsfeld/) ## More by Alan Stern > [Competition-driven innovation and price pressure that commercial practices foster can only make human spaceflight ever more common and U.S. leadership in this domain ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/competition-driven-innovation-and-price-pressure-that-commercial/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Of course Pluto is a planet: It's massive enough to have its shape controlled by gravity rather than material strength, which is the hallmark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/of-course-pluto-is-a-planet-it-s-massive-enough-to-have-its-shape/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [It used to be said that Pluto is a misfit. But now we know Earth is the misfit. This is the most populous class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-used-to-be-said-that-pluto-is-a-misfit-but-now-we-know-earth-is/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper belt region, which I call the third zone because it lies beyond the rocky terrestrial planets and beyond the giant planets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-region-which-i-call-the-third-zone-because-it-lies/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [I think if you were between maybe 6 and 16, there was nothing like Apollo, and I wonder if there can be something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-think-if-you-were-between-maybe-6-and-16-there-was-nothing-like/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If you put Earth out beyond Neptune, you wouldn't be able to call it a planet because it couldn't clear its zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-you-put-earth-out-beyond-neptune-you-wouldn-t-be-able-to-call-it-a/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Why would you listen to an astronomer about a planet?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/why-would-you-listen-to-an-astronomer-about-a-planet/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [When we first sent missions to Jupiter, no one expected to find moons that would have active volcanoes. And I could go down a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/when-we-first-sent-missions-to-jupiter-no-one-expected-to-find-moons/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Pluto is still active four and a half billion years into its history. It was expected that small planets like Pluto would cool off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/pluto-is-still-active-four-and-a-half-billion-years-into-its-history/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper Belt is the largest mapped structure in our planetary system, three times as big as all the territory from the sun out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-is-the-largest-mapped-structure-in-our-planetary/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If two billion people wanted to watch a robot fly by Pluto, imagine what it will be like when the first humans step on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-two-billion-people-wanted-to-watch-a-robot-fly-by-pluto-imagine/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [To keep everyone invested in your vision, you have to back up a little bit and really analyze who the different stakeholders are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/to-keep-everyone-invested-in-your-vision-you-have-to-back-up-a-little/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [We're going to find Marses and maybe Earths out in the solar system's attic of the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/we-re-going-to-find-marses-and-maybe-earths-out-in-the-solar-system-s/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [One of the implications of the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and its many small planets is that many scientists now think of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/one-of-the-implications-of-the-discovery-of-the-kuiper-belt-and-its/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [CASIS has to succeed because for it not to succeed would be a huge setback for the International Space Station program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/casis-has-to-succeed-because-for-it-not-to-succeed-would-be-a-huge/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) [Explore all 102 Alan Stern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## More Budget quotes > [I don't like just traveling in for a short time. I've done that before, because sometimes you work for magazines and they have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sacco/i-don-t-like-just-traveling-in-for-a-short-time-i-ve-done-that-before/) [Joe Sacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sacco/) > [When we stop running up huge budget deficits and start acting responsibly in Washington, we will provide small-business owners with the certainty they need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/when-we-stop-running-up-huge-budget-deficits-and-start-acting/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [Many developing nations have such severe debt and budget problems that the money given by developed nations will never be spent the way it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grenell/many-developing-nations-have-such-severe-debt-and-budget-problems/) [Richard Grenell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grenell/) > [We will make government more accountable. We will cut fraud, waste and abuse in our budget. But we will not do it by leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-james/we-will-make-government-more-accountable-we-will-cut-fraud-waste-and/) [John E. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-james/) > [Defense spending as a share of the economy dropped significantly during the early 1990s, and that was one of the things, along with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orszag/defense-spending-as-a-share-of-the-economy-dropped-significantly/) [Peter Orszag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orszag/) > [I firmly believe that if members of Congress fail to perform their most basic duty in passing a budget, then they do not deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-schrader/i-firmly-believe-that-if-members-of-congress-fail-to-perform-their/) [Kurt Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-schrader/) > [They offered me $1,500 to do a week of 'The Golden Girls.' Can you imagine that? A big show with a big budget, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soupy-sales/they-offered-me-1-500-to-do-a-week-of-the-golden-girls-can-you/) [Soupy Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soupy-sales/) > [In my mid-20s I worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hoover/in-my-mid-20s-i-worked-at-the-white-house-office-of-management-and/) [Margaret Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hoover/) > ['The Librarians' is a show that really needs to have ten days, but we shoot it in seven, so the workload is really tremendous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/the-librarians-is-a-show-that-really-needs-to-have-ten-days-but-we/) [Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/) > [In a budget this massive, there are certainly areas where I think we could do much better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/in-a-budget-this-massive-there-are-certainly-areas-where-i-think-we/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [As soon as you're at the higher levels of budgeting, you've got to get the film made, and the only way to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/as-soon-as-you-re-at-the-higher-levels-of-budgeting-you-ve-got-to-get/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [I don't want to revisit history or try to re-interpret it, you know, but starting from where we are now, given the experience that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-don-t-want-to-revisit-history-or-try-to-re-interpret-it-you-know/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [If we're going to have an unconventional budget, we probably need an unconventional process to get there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-foxx/if-we-re-going-to-have-an-unconventional-budget-we-probably-need-an/) [Anthony Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-foxx/) > [The American people, in their own families, they understand that you have to do that. You have to make the tough decisions. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/the-american-people-in-their-own-families-they-understand-that-you/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [There is no excuse for waste, fraud, and abuse in the Defense Department budget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/there-is-no-excuse-for-waste-fraud-and-abuse-in-the-defense/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/) [Browse all 855 Budget quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budget/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The costs of badly-run NASA projects are paid for with cutbacks or delays in NASA projects that didn't go over budget. 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