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All NASA has done since then is waste money.

And Musk did fund the company privately, and has been paid BASED ON PERFORMANCE.

I think that's a better way than cost plus contracts.

The spacecraft parked at the ISS (another waste of NASA money) could have carried about 14000 lbs, but not for this test.

Neil and Gene are great guys. But their way of doing things has moved from a government agency to free enterprise.

And I'm glad for that. We do need to be 1st in space, and government won't get us there. Ref the last 30 years of circle-jerk at NASA.

Get the government agency wannabe engineers out of the way and let someone that can, do what is required without a hundred meetings.

/johnny

Musk also founded the Tesla motor car company, which got a subsidy from the US government, in the form of a Department of Energy loan facility that it utilized to borrow about $250 million in 2011, at an interest rate of 3%. In June 2009 Tesla was approved to receive US$465 million in interest-bearing loans from the United States Department of Energy.

And you can get a federal tax break of $7,500 if you buy one. Not surprisingly, Musk favors a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. The Tesla Roadster has a base price of US $109,000. And the planned Model S sedan, is anticipated to begin production for the 2012 model year with a base price of US $57,400, which will also have a federal tax subsidy. This is just crony capitalism and I bet that Musk makes major contributions to the Dems and Obama. So much for the marketplace, which is being subdized by the taxpayer to help the wealthy buy high end electric cars.

The government is going to be the biggest customer regardless. Just like the defense industry, there will just be a few companies to provide these services and there will be cost overruns and cost plus contracts.

This is just a fig leaf disguising the fact that the US is in a state of decline. We are broke and there will be many painful decisions ahead. We will see the usual guns versus butter battles that mark declining powers. The welfare system is collapsing, but the left will do whatever is necessary to keep it going a little longer even if it means eviscerating defense and reducing expenditures on space exploration. You can continue to believe the fairy tale that the gutting of NASA was just a good management decision. People like Armstrong and Cernan know better.

So exactly when will Musk be putting Americans back into space?