This is probably a duplicate posting, but it deserves as much play as it can get:

Remember Beal Aerospace?

A quote:

'Incidentally, I was appalled that former NASA engineer Dennis Tito had to pay a foreign country to access the ISS. Let's all be thankful that Congress never funded NASA to develop the automobile. If it had, I suspect that the use of these dangerous vehicles would be restricted to "autonauts" and we common citizens would revel that these highly trained "autonauts" could operate these incredible high performance automobile machines.'

Warning: Rant Follows

You may agree. You may disagree. But putting serious thought into what NASA's role should really be, how NASA can best serve the goal of opening up the high frontier, can only be a good thing. Seeing as humans are still only able to go in circles around Earth three decades after Apollo, some re-evaluation of NASA's role is needed.

I think NASA has a tough row to hoe, that being subject to Congress, Presidents, pork and politics makes its job harder. Not easier. And I think some people at NASA try very hard to 'keep the dream alive.'

But the leadership of NASA needs to do better. Keeping the dream alive, giving it occasional mouth-to-mouth or Heimlich maneuvers as needed, is not enough. The dream must expand, must grow, must make the transition from dream to reality.

Ideas are nothing without action.

EOR (End of Rant)