Spaceflight is wasteful because it is designed to be. The same military purposes you talk about is what causes companies like ULA to exist. The space shuttle ended up being an industrial jobs program that resulted in huge costs for every launch.
On the other side, NASA is nowadays quite efficient with their money. And companies like SpaceX showed how costs can be tremendously decreased.
On the other side, NASA is nowadays quite efficient with their money. And companies like SpaceX showed how costs can be tremendously decreased.