NASA’s civile service buracacy runs it, but they must respond to the political needs of congressman adn such ni their districts.

Why the hell did you think “..scientists and engineers..” run NASA?!!

2- it is good they did the blindingly obvious and kill Ares-1, but yes otherwise Constellations still ontrack. It COULD be built within the money designated – but that would require NASA to streamline its organization and oversight. Even where they legally could, they won’t. Especially building a Constellation system they want to kill.

3- at best it is just pork thrown to industry to keep it from going out of business.

Now not having the aerospace industry related to space exploration go out of business is a good thing; but we’ve still just gutted the space program and are just arguing about what remnants of the old NASA and space exploration related industry, to maintain. Were not talking about any new path – or even any old path. We’re not going anywhere.

4- NASA had or was offered several very technically doable, very good, successors to the shuttles, even obvious upgrades to the shuttles to correct their faults and cost issues. All these proposals failed due to a couple critical flaws. The biggest was they would DRAMATICALLY lower launch costs and overhead requirements. That was politically nonsensical, and utterly unacceptable, since it would cause layoffs in districts.

5- the glimmer of hope because of money to “..subsidize the development of new private space rockets.” Is really still more pork, its just going to different companies. Alt.spacers like those companies more then the bigger older companies – but its still pork when it goes to your friends. It is not buying a ticket to space no a new-space spaceline.

6- I’m going nuts over all the nonsense about how cool and innovative these new companies will be, and how much they will advance us in space. If old companies were given contractual and oversight streamlining, they could do far more with far less. If the new-space companies operate under the old rules, they will only be able to do far less then now with the same amount of money. its a fantasy of new-spacers that old space was to stupid and inefficient to do anything. Really old space is far more innovative and capable, but they also know the rules of the game.