The Antares explosion was a blow to Orbital Sciences' future as a contract hauler for NASA. And Virgin Galactic's test accident threatens space tourism, a demonstrated money maker for private enterprise in space. But these setbacks will be overcome. Rosetta's admitted success is just another taxpayer-funded science boondoggle that will provide a handful of academics a few papers and maybe further a few scientific careers. No true economic benefit will arise from this, and no investors will make a return on the vast capital lavished on yet another geeky science project. There will be no profit generated that can then be plowed back into development of manned space travel for free enterprise, or profit to attract further investment, and only the prestige and reputation of a few European universities, leftist social democracies and government bureaucracies will benefit. Pigs, or (at the very least), pork in space.

This is the kind of pointless stunt NASA used to indulge in, and which eventually drove it into bankruptcy and public apathy. Sure, the science and technical expertise is dazzling, but it will never yield any true commercial benefit. About the only value we can hope to derive from this spectacle is that it may develop some technologies and staff expertise (at taxpayer expense) that can be applied in the future by the private sector to some more worthwhile projects. The future of space lies in private investment, not government circuses.