Private enterprise
<T. B. - "I hope with every fiber of my being that the private sector gets a crack at space exploitation."
They don't?
Not in the extensive ways I have in mind, which is private organizations mining asteroids, and funding exploration for profit. Of course, private companies have a lot to do with the current space program, in that they are hired by NASA and other government organizations to do the work, but that's not the same thing.