Thevast majority of DOD contracts are awarded by DOD field organizations, orspecific mission-oriented agencies within an organization.

Many astronomers regard NASA as a mission-oriented agency that emphasizes hardware development over the quality of its scientific research, and they fear that their brand of curiosity-driven research, with few immediate practical applications, could be lost in the shuffle there.

The vast majority of DOD contracts are awarded by DOD field organizations, or specific mission-oriented agencies within an organization.