How NASA finally melted its giant ?self-licking ice cream cone?

In particular, Garver and other appointees from the Obama administration sought to help NASA take advantage of the country's emerging commercial space industry."The relentless momentum of the status quo exists for most government contracting because people who are paid to do something aren't interested in someone lowering the cost," Garver said. She explained that this is because changing the funding mechanism might mean that a particular part of NASA receives less funding.The commercial space initiative had begun under Mike Griffin in 2005, and by the end of that decade, there was a begrudging acceptance within NASA and the broader space community that private companies should be tasked with taking cargo to the International Space Station. As a public policy initiative, it was really all about lowering the cost of getting into orbit, getting the taxpayers the best value, and allowing NASA to spend its billions on things that are unique to its mission."More than a decade after starting these cargo and crew programs, the commercial space industry that NASA kick-started is helping the United States remain at the forefront of spaceflight.