Governments send people to space more as a matter of national pride than serious technological or human progress. That was why we stopped moon landings after Ap

Governments send people to space more as a matter of national pride than serious technological or human progress. That was why we stopped moon landings after Apollo, and the Shuttle was hamstrung. And it's why the Chinese have put on only token efforts. If it's finally profitable to do space, it's up to a private company to do it. NASA's version is just more flag waving. The best it can hope for is to be a jobs program for technologists. Which is awesome and undoubtedly has benefits, but it's no surprise that it isn't profitable or gutsy.