Former President Trump’s suggestion that a government efficiency commission be formed to examine the workings of every part of the federal government is a brilliant one. The idea that SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk be in charge of the commission would seem to be a no-brainer.

Such a commission would be the perfect vehicle for looking at NASA, an agency with a storied history beset with a slew of problems.

One of the major problems NASA faces is its difficulty with bringing projects on schedule and on budget. Examples over the past few decades include the International Space Station and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Some projects, such as the Mars Sample Return and the VIPER lunar rover have gone so far off the rails that they face cancellation or at least a lengthy process of rescoping. The tale of the Space Launch System, key to the Artemis return to the moon, remains depressing.

NASA is not unique in its inability to complete projects on time and under budget, The large number of weapons systems the Defense Department has funded that cost more and took longer to develop than originally planned goes back many decades. The F-35 is an example.

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