The irony here is that even the not so great American space programs, like the two you mentioned, are still leagues ahead of most of the rest of world’s space p

The irony here is that even the not so great American space programs, like the two you mentioned, are still leagues ahead of most of the rest of world’s space programs. Also, the SLS launch that’s happened was flawless. Sure the thing is expensive, but how is it a failure? Orion and SLS will medium to long term likely both be replaced by Starship / Superheavy. The only non-American super impressive space program that I’ve seen is actually India’s ISRO. Their cost for traditional rockets price per kg to orbit is quite impressive, though Spacex dominates everyone on price due to reusability.