Consider heavier than air flight. The government arranged for Langley to perform research, and he demonstrated feasibility with an unmanned system, but his expensive manned demonstrations failed. He scaled some parts wrong, and gave up.
The Wright brothers had to perform research economically, and invented the wind tunnel, developed coordinated control laws using kites. Their propeller efficiency was within 5% of that used even today. Their methods worked. they filed their patents, and made millions, if not the “1/3rd of the value of any aircraft made using their methods”. They had incentive to not give up, incentive to cut costs, incentive to assure their research time and dollar was efficient.
This STEM business even carries vague overtones of the old account of taking from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It ended up in death. Finite man was overwhelmed by the infinite.