The private sector can only make significant moves in this area (at the moment) with investments and funding from NASA.
NASA has been a massive customer / subsidizer for entrants in the new space arena.
I'm a huge fan of private sector space innovation, but having a large and well-funded public entity helps make that innovation possible. Advocating blanket defunding of NASA would put the private space sector into jeopardy.
When NASA funds private sector projects, the people aren't the funding, the money is. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your point. I don't get what you're saying.
I quickly and poorly tried to make a point, so let me just state what I envision. NASA is one giant government entity bogged down by bureaucracy like any other govt org. The private sector can grow, and become competitive for the greatest minds, more efficient tech, and more networked understanding of what is needed to accomplish this mission. Each company will do what is in the best interest of their company and invest as such. NASA will take the money out of our pockets, dump it in these projects, and will waste a certain amount, and may not even come out with tech as effective as had the private sector had done it.
The reason I trust the private sector over NASA is that NASA is a "too big to fail" org. It can lull for a few decades but because it's a federal org, if a new need arises they'll try to solve it by dumping money into it. I mean I'm sure persistence is a great quality on an individual level, but when our dollars are at stake, I'd at least like to be ensured that the entire process up until the final product is created is invested privately as it puts pressure on a smaller scale. If they fail at doing it then we waisted the dollars that could have been spent elsewhere more effectively, while a private company will be able to re-structure, support and collaborate with others with their knowledge.
I just don't have this blind trust that dumping money into NASA will produce a result, let alone the best one. The people at nasa if they are smart can freely go to a company that can do it better without the government waste or abuse, NASA is merely a department with people, they're not shackled to their desks and must only use their minds on American Space Ventures.
