Source: NASA via Bloomberg

The A-3 tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010.

The A-3 tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010. Close

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The A-3 tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010.

NASA will complete a $350 million structure to test rocket engines at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi early this year. Then, it plans to mothball the 300-foot-high, steel-frame tower for the foreseeable future.

The reason: Congress ordered the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to finish building the facility even though the agency doesnt need it.

The tower was designed to test a GenCorp Inc. (GY) engine for a rocket program canceled in 2010. Its funding survived thanks to Mississippi Republican senators led by Roger Wicker, who crafted a provision requiring the agency to complete the work.

The test stand is an example of how U.S. lawmakers thwart efforts to cut costs and eliminate government waste, even as they criticize agencies for failing to do so. Attempts to close military bases, mail-processing plants and other NASA facilities also have been fought by congressional members whose districts benefit from the operations.

When it comes down to their pork, theyre always going to defend it, said Rand Simberg, a space policy scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based research group that supports less spending and fewer regulations. All that matters is maintaining jobs in the right states and districts.

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Congress Makes NASA Finish Useless $350 Million Structure