The Lesson of SpaceX's Dragon

William Connelley's post on SpaceX's Dragon launch to the ISS is a good opportunity to point out what we're seeing -- the birth of a private space industry made possible only by 50 years of government investment in space science and technology, financed by the collective investment of a few generations of U.S. taxpayers (and, being fair, the work of many scientists around the world before and since, mostly supported by their home governments).

Innovation and progress like this doesn't just happen. It happens only because governments lay the foundation for it -- a story we have seen again and again.

Sadly, this bears emphasizing, at a time when many in the U.S. are no longer able to grasp the fundamental role government plays in progress.