Those other things have almost no budget or even have to worry about maintenance beyond the first use (rockets startups are potentially changing that of course)

Those other things have almost no budget or even have to worry about maintenance beyond the first use (rockets startups are potentially changing that of course). I think you are overly pessimistic. There has never more a better time in history for a person with an idea to get funding for crazy ideas like this because of capitalism. They just have to make money. For an idea like this to be worth it and succeed, it has to be cheaper than that person willing to do it manually. High minimum wages and benefits like single payer health insurance will definitely speed this up.