Comment by ironyman
2 years ago
They have the budget to do both easily.
Like how the NRO used to design and launch satellites that cost more than aircraft carriers but are now working closely with private companies like Maxar to find more economical solutions.
https://www.maxar.com/press-releases/nro-awards-maxar-a-10-y...
Thing is the fundamental laws of physics give us a good idea as to the capabilities of the NRO given a certain launch platform. Like how when scientists in the late 70s were figuring out the best telescope they could launch they ended up with almost the exact specs of the Keyhole spy satellites, a spare of which became Hubble.