[CountSessine]

Overbloated - what set of requirements do you think are being unnecessarily exceeded?

NASA is a government agency overseen by elected representatives. Failure isn't merely a technical or even an economic setback - it can be a political risk as well. Every failed launch is ammunition for NASA's political adversaries.

Besides - this isn't a Falcon test capsule; it's a one-of-a-kind X-ray telescope. It's loss to the astronomy and astrophysics community couldn't be dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders and a quip on twitter.