Nasa

[Mr. P]

Flawless liftoff! What a ride. I gotta get me one of those.

Hey! We already own it, just can't use it.

 

[Mr.Conley]

[quote-Karl Marx]
An article in National Review said that NASA could get a lot more bang for the buck by scuttling the Shuttle and the International Space Station and putting its emphasis on probes instead. It claims that both the Shuttle and the International Space Station, for all their expense, have contributed little. [/quote]
Yes and no. While it is true that if NASA shifted focus to probes, the scientific bang for your buck is a lot greater, it would obliterate all our efforts to explore and eventually colonize space and the moon. That is where we will ultimately benefit from space. If we shift to probes, we will never be capable of colonizing.

As for your idea on a prize for privately developed space flight, one already exists, it's called the "X Prize"
http://www.xprizefoundation.com/index.asp

I know. That's where I got the idea.