Interesting stat.

Commercial revenues from [private] space ... totaled $225.87 billion in 2012. That’s almost three times the amount that governments ... spent [expense] on space last year.

Profit = Income (revenue) - Expense (cost.) __PIE__

Apples and oranges, but that's ok. Usually the two are close to one another. We can assume a profit since things don't continue without it. I wonder how much was spent by private industry to get that?

Air traffic control is largely satellite dependent.

Not twenty years ago. It was ground radio based VORTACS and I'm sure it still is. When safety is involved changes are S..L..O..W..

...the scope of our federal budget deficit is matched only by the scope of the nothing Congress and the White House are doing about it.

Isn't this our fault for letting them rule? I'm estimating thunder dome in less than a decade which means the chaos starts sooner.