G.R. Patterson III wrote:
Peter wrote:

NASA didn't kill that dream.

Yes, they did. The U.S. government effectively blocked all attempts by private
U.S. companies to enter the market of launching payloads into space and put
political pressure on foreign companies (such as Messerschmitt) who also
attempted to do so.

The only reason it was effective was that no one had a clear way of
making a profitable business in space. If there had been fortunes
to be made then political pressure would not have succeeded.