Last Slice of the Pie

Time for one last slice of the NASA pie, this time broken out state by state (following up on previous slices by Company, and by Field Center).   Again, all data are from NASA’s annual procurement reports, are inflation-adjusted to FY10 dollars, and are 3-year smoothed.  The embedded time-series begin in 1999 (reflecting a 1997-1999 average) and end in 2010 (thus, the data still only reflect the old Constellation program, and not the Obama administration’s requested new direction).

On the “large and growing” side, there are few surprises; Colorado stands as the biggest “winner”, due to Lockheed Martin’s capture of the Orion / MPCV crew vehicle.  The trends of the solid rocket industry are largely captured in the Utah data; the recent rise reflects development of the 5-segment reusable boosters slated for the new Ares rockets, prior to their cancellation by the administration.  Florida’s rise over time is likely related to procurement of launch services from the EELV fleet of Delta and Atlas rockets, mostly for scientific missions.

Trends in NASA procurements, state-by-state, 3-year smoothed and in FY10 inflation-adjusted dollars, from 1999-2010

On the shrinking side, Louisiana’s decline is not surprising, as production of the Space Shuttle’s large external fuel tank slowed, then ceased.  The nearly $1B drop in Texas spending may be related to completion of the development of International Space Station modules and systems, in the earlier part of the last decade.

As notable as the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ is the more than 40 dB (4 orders of magnitude) difference between states receiving the least, and the most, NASA direct spending.  (Emphasis on direct, since these data only reflect NASA “prime” and first order service contract procurements.   A web of subtier supplier industries provide services to these contractors, so the actual national distribution of NASA dollars would be slightly more uniform).

Here is the PDF version of the above graphic:  PieSlice_States