BTW, I’m not against private space industry whatsoever. I’m all for free market enterprise above the central government. But... our military should also employ a space program... and it should be the best in the world. I’ll pay taxes for that all day long over everything else we pay for.
So what space program are you suggesting? The military has used spy satellites for decades...and used NASA to get them into space. Why not let private enterprise do that? But the Air Force never had its own space shuttle. The Air Force didn't send people to the Moon or support the space station. NASA did that, badly and outrageously expensively. So why not give private industry a shot?