It is all smoke and mirrors, a.k.a. bread and circuses.
The magician moves his hands in such a way that you are distracted into missing what is really going on.
And, what are we missing that really going on?
Do you mean to imply that the development of hypersonic glide vehicle under the guise of space shuttle is being done to test the vulnerabilities of a missile defense system. Some have said that HGVs cant be stopped by a missile defense system.