Good point
I find it hard to believe he would propose something like that in the teeth of the still-recovering economy and the world situation. Even space enthusiasts can see that this would be an expensive and, in the eyes of many, totally unnecessary effort.
Yet on one level it would be the most powerful affirmation of confidence in the nation's future he could make.
When you are going on a bomber mission over enemy territory, it doesn't exactly suck to see that your pilot and commander is putting a down payment on a new sports car before he leaves.