SPACE: 13 years and $500 million for a stage adapter? Report justifies NASA cancellations.

The least expensive of the four contracts, for the Universal Stage Adapter, is perhaps the most illustrative. NASA contracted with Dynetics in June 2017 to design, test, and build this piece of spaceflight hardware. Made largely of composites, the adapter weighed 9,650 pounds (4.3 metric tons) and stood 33 feet (10 meters) tall.

The original contract awarded to Dynetics totaled $131 million, to which NASA later added $9 million for a payload separation system. At the time the program was canceled earlier this year, the contract value had grown to $353 million, with a delivery date delayed to September 2028. The inspector general’s report projected that the project would likely cost $497 million and not be ready until May 2030.

To be clear: NASA was likely going to pay half a billion dollars for a relatively straightforward stage adaptor. This doesn’t have propulsion or anything like that on board. Also, for some unfathomable reason, it was likely to take 13 years to build.

Isaacman is giving NASA a much-needed shakeup.