This is one reason we need the Burt Rutans of the world. But Government holding us back is only part of the problem. The other part is that Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is so difficult to reach. Burt Rutan/Richard Branson will hopefully soon be able to get you to the edge of space at around 1/6th the velocity required to achieve orbit. To reach orbit requires almost 50 times the energy than just suborbital. This due to the type of ascent profile required for orbital insertion.<br /><br />If these obstacles are overcome, and if there is an incentive such as space tourism, private industry will overcome them. Once overcome, you are right, NASA can buy seats on Virgin Galactic orbital flights to do science.<br /><br />One reason science is the focus of Government run spaceflight is that they believe they have to justify human spaceflight on the basis of scientific research. Otherwise, lawmakers and taxpayers will complain as they did in the Apollo days when they questioned the political motivation for the moon race. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>