@twophrasebark: Dude, I hear you, but I think you're entirely misguided. Yes, government should support things that the private sector can't or won't (including those things you mention), but that is a reason FOR commercial space!

This is a great thing, not something to cry about. Obama's policy is the best thing to happen to space exploration (and NASA) since Apollo. (So much for Obama being a "socialist", btw.)

@rrbeck: Agree. I'm all in favor of a robust government role in creating a level playing field, and subsidizing areas of technological innovation that the private sector can't or won't do. So turning over LEO to commercial space and letting NASA get back to pushing the boundaries of space exploration is exactly what…

@icelight: Patience, grasshopper. Commercial aviation required initial subsidization from the government as well, and without it it's unlikely you'd be flying home for Christmas as safely, comfortably, and efficiently as you now do.

@Graviton1066: "[why] the current Administration seems to want to turn over the public's future in space to them, is just baffling to me"

@Derek Blair: Well said. Exposing crimes, corruption, or misdeeds is one thing. Indiscriminant release of private communications in a way that compromises relationships critical to national security is quite another.

@Jesse Tobiason: EXACTLY! Thank you.

@Skarl: I think you need to get out more often.

Congratulations, SpaceX, and congratulations to the Obama Administration - for this is a core part of their vision for America in space.

@Winston Smith: All governments require revenue in the form of taxation. All governments then allocate that money to fund projects (military, roads, fire departments, you name it) deemed to be "public goods" that can't be provided legitimately or effectively by the private sector.

@screwfilms: Have you stopped to consider the real possibility that you are wrong?

@DfizzleShizzle: Thank you.

@jayrock423: Hey, how about you let me have full access to your computer? What, no? Stop censoring me!!!

I can't believe Gizmodo is effectively endorsing vandalism, no matter how righteous its fanatic adherents believe their cause to be.

Yeah, but it was inevitable, since NASA has been farting around doing high school science projects in LEO for the last 30 years. And it's not all bad - space may not be available for all, but it hasn't been for the last 4.5 billion years so seems a bit negative to start complaining now.

@dantheman12: The release a couple of weeks ago that got all the news wasn't (for the most part) about misdeeds either - it was almost all private conversations and analyses. That was also wrong.

@spamfeed: Yeah, right.

@MyNameIsTooAwesome: Not hanged. Come on. But prosecuted and incarcerated? My bet is it's just a matter of time. He has pissed off too many important people.

@slyman928: Dude. Seriously. The world just does not work that way.

@vinod1978: Point taken, but let's not compound the problem, shall we?