Promote Competitive Space Exploration by Redirecting Defense Funding

While the underlying reasons for the massive expansion of government-funded space exploration in the mid 20th century is debatable, the resulting benefits for the United and States and the world at large are undeniable. Advances in propulsion, material sciences, medicine and a myriad of other areas as well as the societal impact of encouraging the populace to dream bigger. The potential benefits solely from the development of space exploration technology ought to be sufficient enough reason to reconsider how our budget dollars are spent. While the government is well positioned to coordinate a vast array of efforts, it is also in a unique position to allow the private sector the opportunity to compete to develop the most advanced and efficient solutions for space exploration.