Interesting analogy. Apollo accomplished it's goal. SDI, well like you said, some worthwhile developments came out of it.

My point is this, the best way to do fundamental research is through a
competative process. DoD, DoE, NASA or NSF grants could accomplish the exact same thing as a guilded lab that doesn't have to produce.
I'm glossing over some issues of "National Security" at the moment but just stick with me for the meantime.

Lots of smart people wasted some good years in the late eighties working on "Star Wars". A physicist friend of mine was working down at White Sands on a masterful targeting system, his jump shot that is. He did have to shuffle paper a few days a week so he could only beat me 11-2. Had a nifty sounding title though....

Can you think of any commercial or scientific uses for an X-ray laser. I can only think of about 10 off the top of my head but thats still more
utility than being the subject of speculation and a knowing wink from someone supposedly in the know.

"...come to think of it, you're right. SDI was just a vast right-wing engineered aerospace welfare program."

Nothing so elaborate, just shortsightedness and greed. Go pigeonhole and bicker-partisan in the current events forum. I didn't make any ideological statements of any kind, and really try to keep such subjective garbage out. You've made you stance perfectly clear, good for you. It doesn't help you in this case....