.. not to mention the fact that "once you're throwing it out, might as well do some experiments" is not how the incumbent space companies was operating, before

.. not to mention the fact that "once you're throwing it out, might as well do some experiments" is not how the incumbent space companies was operating, before SpaceX came along. For them, it was more like "we've got a near-infinite supply of cash from the government, lets just submit another PO for the next round of experiments" ..