I guess NASA thinks its worth it. Sadly enough. Its creating a closed market, meaning sub optimal results, thus paying more for getting less.<br /><br /><br />I also doubt about the time it would take the private industry to develop a Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft within a short amount of time. I mean developing a whole whopping new system, 6 years, maybe. And in 6 years the ISS will be operational for another 5 years, so you better hope that Bigelow has a spacestation up by that time, otherwise the waste would be even bigger.<br /><br />About the difficulty, Just ask SpaceX how difficult it is to get something in LEO, well you need something 10 times as powerfull as the Falcon 1. Then you would need a spacecraft and docking systems. If its going to be all American vehicle the privat industry has develop this docking system also (can't buy them from the Russian, because of the Not Invented Here syndrome)<br /><br />So NASA would dole out lots of cash to the private industry, probably 1 or 2 companies outthere that can do it the first place. The companies spend it on something already invented and working. I dont say it can't be done, but the question is, is it worth doing. <br /><br />Not the best way to spend money I guess, but hey its, NASA.