Hmm, possibly.
What I want to know is that if, say, the government developed a new propulsion system, why don’t they sell it to a civilian aircraft manufacturer as soon as they develop something better. That way they’ll stay one step ahead and improve the quality of air/space travel around the globe.
Even if they only sold/gave it to NASA they’d still be helping everyone by cutting back on the polluting exhasts & inefficiency of ‘modern’ rockets.
“You can have the afternoon off when you die” - Edmund Blackadder