Re: Well That Doesn't Sound Too Bad
You misunderstand. The purpose of NASA is pork - i.e. to spend money in lots of political districts so politicians can say how good they are at creating and/or keeping jobs. The short-term purpose of SpaceX is to build a successful, cheap, profitable rocket launching business, including unmanned and manned launches, as a stepping-stone to their longer-term goal of establishing a colony on Mars.
Both organizations are being very successful at achieving their goals. They're just completely different goals.
(Edit to add: I know there are lots of really smart people working at NASA who genuinely believe in advancing scientific knowledge and/or sending humans to explore. However, their mission and budget are set by politicians, and they set the goals of NASA to align with their desires for pork).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
