Look, the reason I support NASA as a public institution is that it is not really a choice between public or private when it comes to government space projects, it’s a choice between public and military, between white and black budgets and between government science programs done by NASA or done by DARPA. The government will have a space program of some type , it already has other space projects under several different “hats”, military, CIA, DOD, and DARPA.
Realistically if the guys that worked at NASA were just interested in funding they would be more than happy to join up with one of the branches of the military or belong to some DOD black budget line item, but what would that mean for the actual science and technology that is developed out of those projects, how long would it take for that science to make it out of a black program and end up in a better toaster, medical equipment and improvements in materials science?
You look at these private space companies developing all this great stuff and a lot of it stated out life in NASA, and even the stuff at NASA didn’t start there, NASA doesn’t build anything, some company builds the stuff per their order, NASA doesn’t have a manufacturing plant, but Boeing and McDonald Douglas do.
I’ll give you another example an old NASA project and now a DARPA project is the Boeing X-37, now a black project, how much did it really cost, nobody will really know except some generals and DOD guys because it’s DARPA and how long till the really extraordinary science if there is any, comes out to the civilian market, it is secret after all.
I grant you some stuff that NASA is doing can be done better and cheaper by private companies, by contracting out what they want done then necessarily telling a company how they want it done and what the rocket that gets it there should look like and controlling how its all done, let the private companies handle all that, you just get pound A to point B let them worry how, and you get the bill.
I actually wasn’t criticizing your position, but the US had kind of a monopoly on commercial launches and space tourism.
I can see why they would need to act as kind of an orbital “air space controller” agency and perhaps a space junk monitor (maybe even farming out space junk cleanup)
And also they would need to preserve their role in military space applications maybe even retaining launch vehicles for that very purpose.
But I still think the shuttle looked like an ill conceived, poorly modified, problematic, dangerous, overpriced, obsolete albatross. (other than that it was fine)
I think a smaller and usable cargo capable orbiter launched from a supersonic launch “platform” which would then land, refuel and be ready to carry up the next orbiter would be far superior.
This would eliminate the months of rehab, and the massive effort now needed to get the shaky shuttle ready for its next launch.