I just stumbled across this random fact that NASA outsources a ton of their work to smaller companies and contractors. Kinda wild, right? Never thought about space missions relying on smaller outside teams. Wonder if other big organizations do this as much.
Yeah, it's actually pretty common practice across many large organizations. Even in architecture, big firms regularly partner with specialized smaller studios or consultants for particular expertise—keeps things efficient and taps into niche skills without bloating their own teams. Makes sense NASA does it too.
I've seen this happen a lot in real estate development too. Big developers often outsource specialized tasks like environmental assessments, traffic studies, or even community engagement to smaller firms or consultants. It streamlines the process and lets them focus on their core strengths—like financing and overall project management—without getting bogged down in every little detail.
But here's something I've wondered about: at what point does outsourcing become risky? Like, NASA obviously has strict oversight and quality control measures, but I've seen cases where outsourcing led to communication breakdowns or quality issues because the external team wasn't fully aligned with the main organization's vision or standards. Curious if NASA's ever faced similar challenges...
