I bet space exploration will start to take-off with this more privatized approach as it is a little similar to how computers were funded by DoD - government contracts for building new technologies that private companies can compete to decrease the costs of.<p><a href="http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/recording/computer1.html" rel="nofollow">http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/recording/computer1.html</a>