I suppose they have to be allowed to bid on a hypothetical new Commercial Crew phase, but Lockheed’s Orion cost and development or manufacturing timelines just can’t be allowed anywhere near a viable, scalable, sustainable program.
That’s the beauty of the Commercial Crew contracts. Its fixed bid. It doesn’t matter how inefficient the internal processes are or expense of parts. Those costs are borne on the vendor, in this case that would be Lockheed. So if Lockheed is able to make a cost effective version of Orion they could choose to bid for the next Commercial Crew contract (if and when it occurs). NASA won’t be responsible for any overages, just like they aren’t on Starliner.
There are so many options on the horizon that we shouldn’t keep getting bullied into accepting Lockheed.
I agree, I’m not looking for another Constellation program. I’m not suggesting being stuck with yet another “cost plus” contract. I’m suggesting Lockheed compete on fixed price just like SpaceX, Boeing, and Sierra Space is.