Well yeah, but the problem on the table is selling the public, and historically basic research is not an easy sell with the public, as well as the politicians controlling funding. They always want an immediate payoff and a guarantee of success, and they get cranky if they don't get their way. They lump science, research, and development together and don't understand why they can't just order scientists to produce, say, fusion power, as easily and predictably as Intel can crank out yet another variation on the Pentium.

I've gotten the impression that the dearth of manufacturing on ISS had as much to do with it being oversold, and in reality not that practical, as it does with politics and management decisions. I've heard it said, and it sounds reasonable, that vibration in the structure negates the benefits of microgravity in applications like crystal growth and metallurgy. The problems don't negate the concept of space manufacturing in general, just that ISS is a good platform for it.

Pretty much the Shuttle all over again, NASA trying to sell it as the answer to everybody's problems, with a result that fairly can be described as a camel--a horse designed by a committee.