I don't have a problem with government sponsoring research. The problem is that the NASA bureaucracy has calcified to the point where much more effort goes into jumping through paperwork hoops than actually producing some data of interest to the scientists. A from-scratch organization which contracted for satellite development would do better but it has the same pressures that screwed up NASA: jobs for specific Congressional districts, elaborate procedures to keep government staffing high, and lots of CYA requirements, analysis, and testing so the bureaucrats can always prove a disaster isn't their fault.
If you want good value for the money, offer prizes.
no subject
If you want good value for the money, offer prizes.