Far more facts are needed before any kind of judgement for or against NASA could even be attempted. Questions like the following:<br /><br />How long is the time period of this overrum?<br /><br />It could be as long as the entire shuttle program. If it is then what is the percentage of overrun over this time, I would just estimate (which is quite probably what OMB is doing at this time) that if this is over the entire shuttle programs history (after all, if you were to take 5.6 billion and say that was the overrun for just last year, then NASA would have overrun the shuttle budget by more than 100%! Even the enemies of NASA aren't prepared to go that far!) if it is over the entire program history, where the total amount spent on the shuttle is somewhere in the 100 billion area, then the overrun comes out to some 5.6 % or possibly even less. Almost ANY large multiyear engineering project you could name would more than happy with such an overrun!!<br /><br />The problem with these kinds of overall statements, is that the press has a tremendous ability to take them out of context, and to leave out such little parts as I have just pointed out!<br /><br />Now, we have on these boards some very knowledgeble internet hunters and gatherers (I am only mildly capable in this area myself) couldn't we persuade such prople to find out the truth of this matter? How about adding up all of the budgets over all of the shuttle programs history, and then adding up all of the actual shuttle expenditures over the hostory of the program (after all, such a politically visable program must have this information available to the public somewhere) a simple subtraction would then tell the truth. Just a slight mathematical calculation should give an overall percentage difference here. <br /><br />Now, personally, in doing something as complex as designing and building the STS system that had never been done before I would be quite willing to accept up to a 10% overrun without any problem at all