Ahhh, Musk cheerleader-san.
He did not invent the technology, but merely “stole” the others’ work (paid-for by taxpayers) and refined it with modern tech (Delta Clipper technology, for example, dates to over 25 years ago).
Musk’s “success” is complicated by the fact that Musk never designed a reusable rocket: He simply modified his disposable Falcon 9, contrasted to the “accomplishments” of Bezos’ Blue Origin.
The irony being that the budgetary cutbacks which prompted a NASA decision to cancel Delta Clipper (among other factors) are of little risk to Musk’s SpaceX “public-private partnership” via the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness & the Air Force. Delta Clipper’s next phase certainly included spaceflight; your statement is straw man.
You should get your prescription checked: Those rose-colored glasses are awfully thick and blurry with a generous vision-obscuring coating of bias.
You people are insane. Delta clipper was pioneering but so too was the Falcon 9. Where is the delta clipper’s actuating titanium grid fins, designed to withstand the searing heat of re-entry and provide control authority at supersonic speeds as it descends back into the atmosphere after ejecting the second stage which is continuing on into orbit? Oh, it didn’t do all those things? Then I guess the Falcon 9 IS a new design and IS a major accomplishment. Just because other vehicles paved the way in various aspects does not mean the new vehicle is not a major accomplishment in its own right. The hatchet piece on SpaceX is unwarranted and an assault on US private sector innovation and efficiency. It goes against everything this forum is supposed to stand for.