[HN] NASA finally admits what everyone already knows: SLS is unaffordable

This is the best summary I could come up with:

In a new report, the federal department charged with analyzing how efficiently US taxpayer dollars are spent, the Government Accountability Office, says NASA lacks transparency on the true costs of its Space Launch System rocket program.

Published on Thursday, the new report (see .pdf) examines the billions of dollars spent by NASA on development of the massive rocket, which made a successful debut launch in late 2022 with the Artemis I mission.

"Senior NASA officials told GAO that at current cost levels, the SLS program is unaffordable," the new report states.

The report also cites concerns about development costs of future hardware for NASA's big-ticket rocket program, including the Exploration Upper Stage.

"Some NASA officials told us that changes to Artemis mission dates should not affect the SLS program’s cost estimate," the report states.

"Other officials noted that the program’s cost estimate would be expected to increase to account for the delay to the Artemis IV mission, which shifted from 2026 to 2028."

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Why is everyone still focusing on rockets? I've heard there have been some pretty spectacular developments regarding space planes and hybrid rocket/jet engines (like the SABRE engine) that result in highly efficient engines. Additionally, the SABRE engine specifically is actually significantly more efficient than a traditional jet engine, so why isn't it replacing traditional turbines or other jets? Everyone's still trying to send stuff (more or less) straight up.