“But the answer is now “no,” which angers many in the space community”
Those in the space community who weren’t footing the bill, apparently. Or held responsible for the project schedule. Or serving as liason with the multiple, overlapping, maddening layers of rules and managers, etc. etc. etc…
The rest of use are quite happy to book other launch vehicles. Standardized (and thus, competitive), streamlined (literally and metaphorically), and accomodating launch vehicles, from responsive managers.
